Missing Pieces
by rachael-green-bakura
Summary: When Zyphre and Lydia first met, they really, truly hated each other. Prequel to Life Expectancies. Rated M for language, gore, and strong sexual themes.
1. Savagery

Zyphre rolled off the recently deceased woman, casting the bloodless husk aside as he had no further use of her.

"She's still warm if you want a turn," he snickered, fixing his pants as he turned to his second in command.

"In light of my position, that would be ill-advised, I think, my lord," said Draesen calmly. "Katrine would have my head."

"You were more entertaining before she came into the picture if you ask me," said Zyphre.

"She has always been in the picture since you met me, my lord."

Zyphre ignored Draesen, turning the drained body over with his foot. He thought he heard something and pricked his ears for the sound again, holding his hand up to keep Draesen from talking. He heard the noise again: an unmistakable whimper coming from the hut behind him.

With untraceable speed, he darted into the house. There was a crash and a shrill scream before Zyphre walked calmly out, holding a small girl no older than six by the collar. The child was ghostly pale and had the mark of a vampire bite on her neck. She started to cry as she saw the moonlight glinting off Zyphre's razor-sharp fangs, clearly visible in his manic grin.

"Draesen, what's this?" he asked.

"It would appear to be a human child, sir," said Draesen.

"This, smartass, is a survivor," he said with a grin. "A survivor who's been bitten. This must be yours. I've killed all my prey tonight."

"She's just a child," said Draesen. "Forgive me for sparing her life."

"Hmm…" Zyphre pretended to appear thoughtful. "Well, maybe I could forgive y – no. No, I'm afraid not. Because, you see, when I say 'Let's go feat on an entire village,' I mean the _entire_ village."

"Of course, my lord," said Draesen with a mock bow. "How could I forget the no survivors rule?"

"Please let me go," sobbed the little girl. "I'm so scared. I want my mommy and daddy."

Zyphre gasped mockingly. "You hear that, Drae? She's scared and wants her mommy and daddy. We should be good citizens of Faerûn and return her to them!"

Draesen, knowing full well where the girl's parents were, turned his face away. Zyphre dug his black, clawlike nails into the child's throat, tearing it completely out and dropping her as he did so. She was dead before she hit the ground. Zyphre shook flesh and sinew from under his claws, licking up the blood on his fingers.

"Next time, kill your food," said Zyphre casually. "It saves it a lot of pain and me the trouble of doing that. And what a waste of perfectly good blood…" He kicked the corpse over to reveal a growing puddle of the ruby liquid.

"Yes, my lord," said Draesen. "I will remember next time. Forgive me for still holding some pity for the mortals."

"You've been one of us for going on three thousand years," said Zyphre. "You shouldn't see mortals as anything anymore."

"My apologies," said Draesen, mock bowing again. "It will be dawn within the hour, my lord. Shall we head back?"

"Yeah," said Zyphre. "Are you coming with me or going back to your tower?"

"My tower, I think," he said. "Katrine will be expecting me. And you are going back to Nerull's castle?"

"Course. That's where I live now."

An odd expression crossed Draesen's face. "Are you sure it was…wise…to ally us with that man?"

"Of course it was wise," said Zyphre. "I mean, sure, Nerull is the biggest asshat I've ever met and I hate living in that suffocatingly huge castle, but the vampires have never been stronger. We can feed to our hearts content, and if anyone has a problem, we have a god who doesn't give a fuck what we do on our side. It would have been really risky to slaughter this village before I allied with Nerull, but now? Heheh. Who cares?"

Draesen sighed. "Whatever you say, my lord. Until tomorrow evening."

"See ya, Drae," said Zyphre as Draesen transformed into a wolf and disappeared into the trees.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Nerull," Zyphre greeted his host, entering the castle shortly after dawn.<p>

"Zyphre," Nerull said. "From the number of souls coming in, it seems you and your lackey were successful in your hunt?"

"Draesen is my right hand, not some lowly lackey. I have plenty of those," said Zyphre. "But yeah. Draesen only left one alive, and I took care of her. We fed very well."

Nerull waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. I wish to tell you that I have finally chosen the woman who will be the harbinger or death, my bride."

"Oh, cool, who is she?" asked Zyphre.

"Lydia Liadon is her name," said Nerull.

"Liadon?" said Zyphre in surprise. "Isn't that one of the elf lords?"

"Yes," said Nerull. "Lydia is the family's youngest daughter."

"Is she hot?"

"…Hot?"

"Attractive. Sexy. The kind of girl you look at and say to yourself 'Damn. I'd tap that.'"

"She's…kind of pretty, I guess. But I have no interest in 'tapping' anything. She practices flame sorcery."

"A different kind of hot. It's a start, pretty is a start. How old is she?"

"She is still considered a child by the elves."

Zyphre gave him a rather shocked and disgusted look, replacing it almost instantly with his previous mischievous smirk. "Okay. Okay, if you roll that way… Does she know at least? Because if you have to kidnap someone to get laid I will laugh for days."

When Nerull remained silent, glaring, realization crossed Zyphre's face. "Oh my gods, you're going to kidnap her. That's hilarious. I can't believe it." And he started to laugh.

When Nerull grew tired of Zyphre's cackling, he snapped, "You do realize I could kill you with a thought, correct?"

"Yes," laughed Zyphre. "But that is neither relevant to the conversation nor making it any less funny."

And with that, he walked back to his chamber, still laughing to himself, leaving a glaring Nerull in the hallway.


	2. Kidnap

And yet, many years passed, and no one new began to live in the palace, woman, child, or otherwise. When a century had passed, Zyphre began to question this new bride's whereabouts.

"Hey, Nerull," he said one day, leaning against the doorframe of Nerull's workplace. "When am I going to meet this child slut of yours? Well, I guess she wouldn't be a child anymore unless you were looking at an infant, in which case I suggest therapy for your pedophilia problem."

"I would have taken her by now if it weren't for these two damnable dictators!" he snapped. "Elf Ois Silverfrond declared mass genocide on the orcs at the same time dwarf Taklinn Ironax declared mass genocide on cave trolls! I'm too busy to go realm hopping and claim my bride! I've got elves, orcs, dwarves, and trolls coming in by the dozen, as well as everyone and everything dying naturally coming in on top of everything else!"

"Alright, I get it, calm your tits," said Zyphre. "It's been a hundred years though. She's the daughter of a noble family. She's probably been married off and had a couple brats by now."

"Mates and offspring can be taken care of and are nothing more than a minor irritation," said Nerull dismissively. "Although I would desire her pure…"

"Why does virginity matter?" asked Zyphre. "I don't think I've ever fucked a virgin and I've never cared. And you are the person I think would be least concerned about that. You don't even get half of my sexual innuendos."

"Because, Zyphre, I will own her, and I wish to own _all_ of her," said Nerull. "No matter how little I desire her."

"For her sake I hope she doesn't have a very strong sex drive."

"Enough of this," said Nerull. "I will take her tonight, if only to shut you up."

"Heheheh. I aim to please."

* * *

><p>Lydia Liadon, as it turns out, was still unmarried and pure. The past century had been very kind to her, transforming her from a young, pre-pubescent girl to a beautiful young woman, with long, strawberry-blond hair, bright, emerald green eyes, and a shapely frame with quite a large chest compared to the other petite elven women.<p>

She was sitting in the courtyard of her father's castle with her brother, Adonis. She was enjoying her brother's company as he, being a century older, had more or less raised her, and soon they wouldn't be able to just sit like this anymore.

"I wish you weren't getting married tomorrow," she said softly, breaking the silence.

"Oh?" Adonis questioned. "And why's that?"

"You won't have time for your favorite little sister anymore," she said. "Your wife is going to take up all your time."

Adonis smiled and pulled her closer. "I will always have time for Erina," he said, referring to the middle Liadon child with a mischievous grin.

Lydia looked insulted. "A_do_!"

"Ly_di_," he retorted. She made to get up, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto his lap playfully, ruffling Lydia's hair. "I'm only joking; you're my favorite sister. Erina's cute, but she's way too quiet and absorbed in her _studies_."

Lydia smiled. "If our resident scholar was really smart she'd get married herself," said Lydia. "She's pretty enough, and smart."

"Father and I raised you girls to be too independent," said Adonis. "Most men don't want to be even in a political marriage to a woman who's gonna have him by the balls. But that aside, _you_ need to stop rejecting suitors."

"But all those men were pigs!" said Lydia hotly. "They all wanted me as an item and a sex object! When I do marry, I want it to be for love, like you're doing."

"And have you put any thought into what kind of man that is?" asked Adonis.

"Yes," said Lydia. "He'll be handsome, and kind, and noble, and mature, definitely. He'll have a witty sense of humor. He'll protect me, and never treat me like an item, or think of me as just a device for bearing sons."

Adonis smiled and ruffled his youngest sister's hair. "I wish you the best of luck on your search, Lydi," he said. "I hope you find your knight in shining armor."

"Thank you, Ado," she said with a smile. There was an uneasy silence before she said, "What if your bride-to-be doesn't like me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, we haven't met…only you, mother, and father have met her," said Lydia. "What if we don't like each other and she gets jealous and refuses to let me spend time with you? Or you have kids and don't have time for me? Or you just like her more than me?"

Adonis laughed. "I will always have time for my favorite little sister," he said. "Now, the sun is setting, and tomorrow's a big day. We both should be getting to bed."

* * *

><p>"<em>Wake up<em>!"

Lydia woke with a start as a booming, male voice echoed around the room. Lydia screamed and scooted backwards away from the old, skeletal man standing over her. She then noticed that she was on a hard stone floor in a room that was most definitely not hers.

"Who are you? Where have you taken me? What's going on? Am I dreaming?" she asked in an almost hysterical voice.

"_Silence_!" hissed the man, banging the staff end of a huge, jagged scythe on the ground. Lydia fell silent, terror clawing at her insides. "In order of your questions: I am Nerull, god of death, this is my castle, you have been chosen to be my bride, and no, it's not a dream, so get used to it. You will be made immortal as soon as we wed, and remain here until the end of time as my harbinger of death."

"B-but my home!" Lydia cried in distress. "What about my family? My brother's wedding is tomorrow!"

"None of those concern you anymore," said Nerull. "This is your chamber now. You will sleep here. We wed at dawn. You will meet your personal guard after that."

Nerull left the room, slamming the door. Lydia heard the lock click. She pulled herself onto the gloomy bed, curled into a fetal position, and started to cry, praying that this was just a nightmare.


	3. Guard

Lydia awoke to the sound of her chamber door unlocking. Her head hurt from crying and her spirits sank as she saw the same gloomy room. She stared at the door, still praying that her brother would walk through it and tell her it had all been a joke. When Nerull walked through the door she felt like crying again.

"Get up," Nerull commanded, throwing a white gown at her, "and put that on. We wed at once."

The wedding was empty, dark, and quick. She and Nerull stood alone in front of an alter in a dingy, black room. Nerull recited the formal words of the ceremony, cutting out the unnecessary parts, at rapid speed. Lydia's only words throughout the whole, five minute ordeal being "I do," which she was forced to say at knifepoint. The second it was over, Nerull swept out of the room, beckoning Lydia to follow him.

He led her to what can only be described as a sitting room. There were two men in it, talking and laughing. One was none other than Erythnul, god of slaughter himself. The other man Lydia didn't recognize, but his long, pointed fangs instantly gave him away as a vampire. As they got closer, Lydia realized they were swapping slaughter stories. The vampire seemed to be telling one that was particularly entertaining.

"So then this _bitch_," he was saying.

"I hate to interrupt what is doubtlessly a thrilling and bloody tale," said Nerull dryly, "but I must speak with both of you. Erythnul, I wish to speak to Zyphre first. If you would wait in my office, I will be with you shortly."

The god of slaughter cackled and stood up, departing with a creepy, "Until next time, Zyphre…"

Zyphre leaned back and took in the woman slightly behind Nerull. She looked very overwhelmed, scared, and there was a slightly dead look behind her eyes. Even so, she was very beautiful, and Zyphre felt himself getting a little aroused as his eyes followed the curves of her body.

"So," said Zyphre with a slightly evil grin. "This is your blushing bride-to-be? You were right. She is very…pretty." He raised his eyebrows slightly seductively.

Lydia's face turned scarlet and she turned her eyes away. Nerull stepped back to expose her more.

"She is a bride-to-be no longer," said Nerull.

"Aww, you got married and you didn't tell me?" asked Zyphre in a mock hurt voice. "That really stings. You knew I wanted to meet her and attend."

"You'll have plenty of time to get to know her," said Nerull. "You will be her official guard."

The mischievous grin slid off his face for the first time. He looked horrified. "You can't be serious," he said. "I can't play babysitter, I'm – I have an entire race to govern! Come on, Nerull!"

"Your second can run them just fine," said Nerull. "You allied yourself to me–"

"Allied doesn't mean slave!"

"You will do as you're told!"

"I don't take orders from anyone!"

"While you are living in my castle you take orders from me!"

"You're making me live here!"

"N-Nerull," Lydia cut in softly, "h-he doesn't have to guard me if he doesn't want to…Ahh!"

Lydia broke off with a sharp cry as Nerull silenced her by slapping her across the face.

"Silence!" he commanded. "Both of you! Lydia, you will see me in my chamber tonight for our wedding night. Zyphre, you will watch her until further notice. That is the final word!"

Nerull stormed off down the hall, leaving the two of them behind. Zyphre continued to look disbelieving for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. The mischievous grin slid into place with practiced ease.

"I suppose I'll have to pretend to be interested, then," he said. "Tell me about yourself."

"I was kidnapped from my family, forced into marriage with a truly vile man who struck me for speaking, and I'm going to be raped tonight," said Lydia flatly.

"It happens to the best of us," said Zyphre. "Are you a virgin?"

Lydia looked affronted. "Of course I am!" she said. "I am…_was_ unmarried! How dare you suggest that I wouldn't remain pure for my husband!"

"Heheheh."

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just gonna hurt and I really don't think Nerull will be gentle with you," smirked Zyphre.

"How is that anyone's concern by my own, least of all yours?" asked Lydia coldly, folding her arms.

"It wasn't, I'm just inquisitive," said Zyphre.

"Just be quiet and show me around the castle," said Lydia. "If I'm going to live here, I might as well know where everything is."

"Where do you think you get off ordering me around?" asked Zyphre rather angrily.

"If you don't take me, I'll explore by myself," said Lydia. "And how would Nerull react if he found me wandering the castle alone, likely lost, without you after he gave you a direct order to be my body guard?"

"…Well played, wench," said Zyphre after a pause. "Come on."

Lydia followed him happily. "So, I have a question."

"I might have an answer."

"This is the castle of the god of death," said Lydia. "So…am I dead?"

Zyphre laughed. "No, I assure you you're as alive as I am."

"You're a vampire."

"You're observant."

"Vampires aren't alive. So am I dead or not?"

Without warning, Zyphre pushed her up against the wall, his fangs brushing over her jugular, applying pressure but not biting down. He only released her when she let out a small whimper of fear. She fell to the ground, holding her throat.

"Why would you do that!" she demanded.

"Tell me, is your heart pounding in terror so hard it feels like it will escape from your chest?" asked Zyphre.

"Yes," said Lydia shakily.

"Then you're alive," said Zyphre. He laughed and kept walking.


	4. Venting

In the next two hundred years, Lydia and Zyphre learned a lot about each other – mostly that they completely and utterly hated each other. Every single thing that one of them did aggravated the other. Lydia hated how rude and blunt Zyphre was while he hated how proper and reserved she was. The best part was that they were forced to be together except when they were sleeping. If either one were caught without the other, Zyphre would be reprimanded harshly. Zyphre was never bothered by the arguments, laughing at them even, but Lydia was usually struck instead of yelled at, and after two hundred years this stopped being quite as entertaining.

Lydia got along famously well with Draesen from the first time she met him, mostly because of how he had openly laughed at Zyphre's predicament of having to be a babysitter. After that she was rather warm to him while at the same time making some rather condescending comments about Zyphre. She was so nice to him, in fact, that Zyphre almost thought she was flirting with him. Apparently it looked that way to Nerull too, for it prompted him to come over and begin to beat her so severely that Draesen stepped in and tried to get him off her. Zyphre found himself unable to answer Draesen's questions as to why he didn't try to help. Saying that it was a daily occurrence only made Draesen give him a disgusted look.

Much as he disliked her, even Zyphre had to admit along with everyone else in the castle that Nerull treated her like little more than the dirt he walked on. He completely ignored her existence most of the time, except when her hit her. He lashed out at her whenever she did something "wrong," which translated to anything he didn't like. This could be, and usually was, something as insignificant as speaking.

Lydia remained strong throughout her torment, at least in front of Zyphre. Every now and then she'd disappear to the bathroom and return with the scent of tears on her, but this happened rarely. She never cried in front of Zyphre because she knew this would prompt his taunts.

* * *

><p>"I hate him," Lydia said to the handmaiden who was bandaging Lydia's arm. She was fairly certain it was cracked due to how dark the bruises were and how much pain was radiating from it.<p>

"Who, milady?" asked the handmaiden, wetting the bandages so that they would dry stiff. "Master Nerull or Lord Zyphre?"

"Both of them," she said. "Nerull for obvious reasons. But Zyphre just infuriates me! He's so rude and coarse and arrogant! I can't stand his cockiness and his delight in violence sickens me!"

"Lord Zyphre has always been a bit crude as long as he's been here," said the handmaiden.

"I've tried to be nice to him," said Lydia, wincing as the bandages were tightened. "I've even tried to be friends with him…make this place a little more bearable…"

"That didn't work out in your favor, milady?" said the handmaiden.

"I think it made him hate me more," said Lydia. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. I would rather die than stay here forever…"

"Lord Zyphre isn't as bad as he seems," said the handmaiden. "If you're around him enough, you're sure to grow on him. I'm sure he likes you well enough and is just reluctant to show it."

* * *

><p>"<em>I fucking hate that bitch<em>!" yelled Zyphre, driving his fist into the wall.

"You seem a bit agitated, my lord," said Draesen.

"I can't help it; she just sets me off!" he shouted. "She makes me want to kill small innocent things!"

"Was she the reason I watched you slaughter that poor squirrel last night?"

"I couldn't help it! She had been bitching to me earlier about my _attitude_," he said.

"You could be a little nicer to her, my lord."

"Don't you start with me too!" snapped Zyphre. "And she says she wants to be _friends_. I would love to be her friend if she weren't such a pompous, proper bitch!"

"I don't know what your problem is," said Draesen. "Miss Lydia seems like a lovely young woman to me."

"She's nice around you!" said Zyphre.

"Would you like to know my opinion, old friend?" asked Draesen, a little shortly. "I would hope so, since you hired me for my opinions."

"Fine."

"I think she's lonely."

"…How do you figure that one?"

"Well," said Draesen, "she's the youngest of three children, had both parents, and dozens of servants, so she always had someone. Here, she has no one. Her husband is neglectful and abusive. She's forbidden to speak to any of the servants except her handmaiden, and the only person she sees on a daily basis - you - hates her. If I were her, I'd be pretty starved for affection. Thus, she's reaching out to you, but you, being the arrogant, stubborn mule that you are, keep slapping her hand away."

Zyphre looked rather stunned. "Did you figure all that out on your own?" he asked.

"Yes," said Draesen. "And I also figured out that she's so nice to me because I was one of the only ones, if not the only one, who was kind to her when she first arrived here."

"How can you see into a woman's mind like that and where can I learn it, you clairvoyant fag?" asked Zyphre.

"The wonderful woman I'm engaged to has been instructing me on the minds of the fairer sex since we were small children to reduce the number of inevitable miscommunications."

"So what do you propose I do?"

"Accept her friendship. She'll be less lonely and you can stop going at each other's throats every ten minutes. Worst thing that can happen is that nothing will change." Draesen grinned. "Plus it will be interesting to see how this transpires."


	5. Mission

Zyphre did his best not to snap at Lydia anymore. He wasn't always successful, but their relationship generally improved. As he was nicer to her, she was nicer to him and he found her less annoying for it. They were slightly more relaxed around each other and more compromising about what the other had to do.

The two of them were in Zyphre's chamber. Zyphre was at the desk, looking over a status report Draesen had sent him. Lydia lay back on his bed, trying to maintain a small ball of fire between her hands. The door was open to show Nerull and the servants that nothing scandalous was happening.

"Are you going to play with that fire the whole time you're in here?" demanded Zyphre after awhile. "You're going to catch something on fire and then it'll be my room that burns down."

"I'm not going to set anything on fire," said Lydia. "I know what I'm doing."

"Tell that to the tapestry you lit up last week."

Lydia shivered, and the bruise on her cheek she had earned for the incident throbbed. "That was an accident," she said softly.

"You have a lot of those."

"I'm still learning, okay?" snapped Lydia. "I was taken away from my mentor just as much as I was my family!"

"There she goes again," muttered Zyphre under his breath.

"What was that!"

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway. Lydia immediately sat up straight, seeming to shrink slightly as she eyed her husband warily, the ball of fire dissipating.

"N-Nerull," she greeted slightly fearfully. Zyphre fought back the urge to laugh at her.

"What's up?" asked Zyphre. "What brings you to my humble chamber today?"

"There's a bandit lord stalking a road and robbing and murdering everyone who walks down it," said Nerull.

"Fun," Zyphre laughed. "But why are you upset about it. Unless you're pleased and I'm just mistaking it for upset, which can happen."

"They are doing it in my name, and telling their victims that I told them to do it," said Nerull. "I told no one any such thing and it annoys me. And so you, my dear –" He turned abruptly to Lydia, who flinched. "– you will carry out your first job as the harbinger of death, and kill them for me."

Lydia nodded shakily. Zyphre snickered and tipped his chair onto its back legs. "Excellent," he said. "A few days free of babysitting."

"Oh, you're going too, Zyphre."

"Repeat that."

"You are going with her," repeated Nerull. "You are her protector, and she needs protection in the outside more than she does in here."

"That wouldn't be as big an issue if it weren't blatantly obvious that I was an unholy spawn of the night," said Zyphre bluntly.

"You have an animal form, don't you?" asked Nerull. "Use it. Lydia is a sorceress. An abysmal one, but a sorceress none the less. Masquerade as her familiar."

Zyphre angrily spluttered incoherently. Lydia hung her head in shame, not saying a word. Nerull ignored both of them and turned to go.

"I expect you both gone within the hour," he said. "Don't return until the job is done." With that, he left.

"Well," said Lydia after an uneasy pause. "I suppose we had best get ready…Meet me outside my chamber when you're ready…"

Lydia got off Zyphre's bed and started walking dejectedly back to her own chamber. Zyphre sped read the rest of the report and got up to go to Lydia's chamber, not needing anything.

After sitting outside her door for close to ten minutes, he decided to check that she was alright. He opened the door without knocking and was greeted with a scream.

"Ahh! Sorry!" said Zyphre, turning away.

"I was changing, you pervert! Don't you ever knock?" Lydia yelled, covering her naked top and hurling a shoe at him.

"Did you just throw a shoe at me?" he cried in disbelief, turning back.

"Don't look!" she screamed, throwing the other shoe. "Cover your eyes or get out!"

"Okay! Okay! Crazy woman!" he said, covering his eyes.

"Don't look," she said again, pulling her top over her head. "Okay, you can look now."

Zyphre uncovered his eyes to see that instead of the long gowns she usually wore, she was dressed in elegant, gilded leather armor. She slung a bag full of supplies over her shoulder.

"What about you?" she asked. "What was it Nerull said about an animal form?"

Zyphre groaned at the fact that she had remembered and transformed into a small vampire bat. Lydia screamed and Zyphre flinched, folding his ears against his head, his first thought being that she was afraid of bats. He opened his mouth to tell her to suck it up when she shot down his theory.

"You are so cute!" she squealed, picking him up.

Zyphre's fur hid his blush, but not his glare. "I am not cute," he hissed. "I don't do cute."

Lydia ignored him and put him on her shoulder. "Let's go," she said. "Before Nerull catches us not gone yet."

She smiled at him and fled the room.


	6. Hate

Lydia and Zyphre were camped next to the road that was the bandits' primary haunt. Lydia was asleep in the tent while Zyphre sat on top of the tent as a bat, keeping a lookout and shivering slightly in the crisp autumn wind.

Cold and envious of the warm tent beneath him, he was just about to give up and call it a night when he saw a prick of light at the end of the road. His ears swiveled towards the light, straining until he caught the sound of voices. Zyphre flew into the tent, using his claws to scratch lightly at Lydia's face until she stirred.

"Nnn…what?" she asked sleepily, half-opening her eyes.

"Someone's coming," he said. "A small group of people. I'm pretty sure it's the bandits we're looking for, judging by the piece of the conversation I overheard."

"Oh, good," she said, sitting up. "I suppose I had best go start up the fire again and meet them."

Lydia placed Zyphre on her shoulder, got up, and went outside. She sat next to the dying embers of their campfire and began to tend to it, using her magic to help it along until it was roaring again.

As soon as the group caught sight of the fire, they made a beeline straight for it. As the group got closer, Lydia and Zyphre could see that the group contained six men and one woman, all heavily armed. The man in front who seemed to be the leader waved and walked over.

"Hello, young miss," he said pleasantly. "What are you doing out here alone at this time of night?"

"Nothing really," said Lydia. "Lovely night, isn't it?"

"Check the ears, boss. She's an elf."

"So you are," said the leader. "It's very rare to meet an elf in these lands, let alone one as pretty as you. What brings you so far from your lands, miss? Are you lost?"

"Oh, not at all," said Lydia, forcing a blush at his compliment. "In fact, I'm here to try to find a group of bandits who have been terrorizing this road in Nerull's name. My husband isn't too happy with them."

"Well, good job, miss," said the leader. "You found us. And good job on your husband's part for leaving you alone for us."

"I hear that elf bitches are tighter than human bitches."

"Yeah, let's rape her before we kill her."

"I call her ass!"

"We'll take that pretty gilded armor off your hands once we're done."

"Well," said the bandit lord. "The boys have spoken. In the name of Nerull, you will service us, and then you will die." Lydia only laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Just that I know my husband didn't tell you to do anything," said Lydia.

"Husband?" asked the bandit lord.

"Yes. I am the god of death's bride," said Lydia. She stood up and gave a flourishy curtsy. "My name is Lydia Liadon and I will be your harbinger of death this evening."

Zyphre groaned and buried his face in his claws. The bandit lord looked at her strangely before bursting out laughing.

"Alright, miss Liadon, you're bluffing, drunk, high, or just plain crazy," he said. He drew his sword and pointed it at her.

"Lydia," hissed Zyphre. "You are going to be raped and killed if you don't get your head in the game. And if you die, Nerull is gonna kill me!"

"Hush!" she hissed back. "It's my mission! I've got it under control!"

"How is raped and killed under control!"

"It just is!"

"Kill them like you were ordered to then!"

"Fine!" Lydia formed a ball of fire in her hands, shot it at the bandit lord, missed, and watched it fizzle out. Lydia blushed for real this time.

"…Pathetic," said Zyphre when nothing else happened. "Absolutely pathetic. Just sit back and let me do it. You clearly have no idea what you're doing."

Zyphre transformed into his vampire form and the mood of the bandits changed abruptly to fear. Zyphre lunged out, sunk his claws into the throat of the leader, and ripped it straight out, killing his instantly. The bandits yelled in horror. Lydia screamed and covered her mouth to stifle it, feeling sick.

Zyphre licked the blood from his fingers. "You have two options. You could stay and be executed painlessly with dignity, or you could flee, and the hunt begins." He grinned evilly. "I'll give you a five minute head start if you choose to run."

All six of them turned tail and fled. Zyphre tensed, poised to spring. "Five…four…three…two…one!"

He lunged after the men, dispatching each one in seconds with untraceable speed. He ripped out throats, hearts, and an increasingly sick Lydia even thought she saw a lung fly through the blood-misted air. When Zyphre reached the only remaining bandit, the female, and Lydia saw him instead push her down, rip her skirt off, and sink his fangs into her throat, Lydia felt very ill and went back inside the tent, unwilling to watch the poor woman be drained dry as she was raped.

Zyphre came back a short while later. Wiping his blood covered hands on his pants, he smirked at Lydia, who glared at him.

"You told them you'd give them five minutes," she said icily.

"Five minutes, five seconds. I never was very good at math," he said, grinning. "Did you enjoy my performance?"

"You're sick," spat Lydia.

"And you're weak," retorted Zyphre. "I wouldn't have had to kill them if you had been able to."

"I am not a killer!"

"And I've survived by it for almost ten thousand years!" said Zyphre, getting angry. "And I haven't slaughtered human cattle like that since you came along, so forgive me for going into a little bloodlust!"

"I will not forgive you! You're a better person than this!"

"You don't know shit about me!"

"Yes, I do! You're my friend!"

"Bullshit," snapped Zyphre. "We are not friends. We will never be friends. I let you think that so that maybe you'll be a little less annoying, but obviously it hasn't worked. I hate this job as a babysitter, I hate Nerull for pinning me with it, and I hate _you_!"

Lydia looked as if she'd been slapped. "Well fine then!" she said in an angry and hurt voice. "If that's how you feel then go away! Get lost! See if I care!"

"Already done!" shouted Zyphre. "See you around, Miss High-And-Mighty Bitch!"

Zyphre left the tent, transforming and flying away. Lydia curled up in her bedroll, feeling more alone than ever since she had first landed in this hell.


	7. Mentor

Lydia didn't speak to Zyphre the entire way home. Zyphre was not bothered by this, seeing it as an improvement. Saying so out loud only made Lydia angrier. He took great enjoyment in taunting her and making snide comments, watching her struggle with the urge to retort. Eventually she did snap, shouting some very choice things about his mother and upbringing, which only made him laugh.

They argued and yelled at each other the entire way home. They were still arguing when they entered Nerull's workplace, where he was discussing something with a guest.

Lydia had just shouted a very colorful name at Zyphre when she noticed the guest. She gasped, blushed, and immediately kneeled, bowing before him. Zyphre laughed at this display but she ignored him, unembarrassed.

"Zyphre," said Nerull. "Leave us. I have no need to speak with you."

Zyphre gave a mock salute and left the room. Lydia still had not looked up from her bow. "Requesting permission to speak, sir," she said.

The guest gave Nerull an incredulous look before looking back at Lydia and saying, "Granted."

"I would apologize for the vulgarity of the conversation you just heard, sir," said Lydia at once. "It was not my place to speak so in your presence."

He held his hand up to silence her and she fell silent at once. "Rise, my child," said Corellon, god of the elves.

Lydia stood, straightening up. Corellon smiled at her and she hesitantly smiled back. She then turned to her husband and said, "Th-the bandits are dead, just as you ordered–"

"Wrong," said Nerull. "I ordered _you_ to kill those men. The cause of death for all of them, _especially _the female, reeks of Zyphre's handiwork. You didn't so much as lay a finger on any single one of them."

Lydia flinched. "I am sorry, my lord…my magic failed me…"

"Do not make excuses for your failure!" snapped Nerull. Lydia flinched again. "But that is why Corellon is here."

Lydia looked up at her god questioningly. "I will increase your magical capacity to the level of a demi-goddess and when I am able I will teach you to control it and use it to your full potential."

"S-seriously?" asked Lydia excitedly. "Th-thank you, sir! M-master!" She bowed again.

"Stand, child," said Corellon. Lydia stood.

Corellon placed his hand on her heart and Lydia flinched as she felt something, almost like a dam inside her breaking open, immense magical power shooting through her veins. Her new mentor smiled at her as she tried to stammer out her thanks.

"I must return to my work now, child," said Corellon. "I will see you later this month, time permitting. And I wouldn't be venturing to the mortal plane until you have better control. It will be much harder to suppress there."

Lydia nodded. "Thank you, master." Corellon had started to leave and had passed through the doorway when she called after him. "Master! Wait! Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, child."

"Do you have any news of my family?" she asked. "Are they okay? How is my father? And my brother?"

Corellon held up his hand and Lydia fell silent at once. "Your family is fine," he said. "Your father, however, passed on a little over two decades ago. Your brother, Adonis, in the new lord."

"Oh…"

"You've also become an aunt," he continued. "Your niece is called Lydia, after her father's missing sister." He smiled at her and departed.

Lydia was still taking in the death of her father and the birth of her niece when there was a sharp yank on her hair. She tilted her head back with a cry of pain.

"Failure in the mission," Nerull hissed, pulling her hair taut again. "Speaking out of turn. Speaking to your superiors. Lack of gratitude. Don't you _ever_ learn, you stupid whore?"

He smacked her hard, sweeping her legs out from under her so she fell, her hair pulling. He kicked her in the stomach and slapped her again.

Fortunately, Nerull grew bored with her within fifteen minutes, allowing Lydia to drag herself away. Zyphre caught sight of her on her way to her chamber, bruised, bloody, and nursing a few cracked ribs. He felt an unknown emotion in the pit of his stomach. As her blackened eyes met him, he realized it was pity.

Zyphre got up and walked over to her. She tensed, waiting for the snarky comment. It never came. Instead, he took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders, allowing her to lean on him.

"Zyphre…?" she asked.

"You look awful." That was all he said as he supported her and led her back to her chamber, finally allowing her to fall onto her bed and black out into a dreamless bliss.


	8. Comfort

Neither Lydia nor Zyphre spoke of him helping her over the next few days. In fact, they hardly saw each other at all. Lydia was being trained by Corellon, allowing Zyphre to once again govern the vampires in peace.

Zyphre was not entirely sure why he had helped her, and was getting some very mixed feelings about it. He couldn't quite figure out if he was ashamed of himself or happy that he did it. There was another emotion thrown in to the mix that he didn't recognize at all. It was very faint, but it was definitely there; a mix between happiness, pride, and lust, different from anything he had ever felt. It made him feel strange.

Lydia seemed to have forgiven him for his bloodlust. She was being marginally warmer to him after he helped her. She also seemed a bit sadder overall, but whatever was bothering her, she wouldn't tell Zyphre.

Zyphre was on his way to Lydia's chamber. Corellon was not coming to train her today, so he was expected to guard her like usual. He was right outside her door when he heard the soft sound of crying.

Zyphre froze, not entirely sure if he still wanted to open the door. He wasn't any good with crying people, his first instinct being to kill them to get them to stop. He found he did not want to kill Lydia any more than he wanted to hear her cry.

He knocked softly on the door, opening it slowly. "Lydia…? You okay…?" The words left his mouth of their own volition, along with his concerned tone.

Lydia looked up from her pillow immediately, hurriedly wiping her eyes. "Of course I am. Why do you ask?" she said in a thick voice.

"Lydia…" Zyphre's inner voice immediately told him to pretend nothing was up and leave. He didn't know why he instead sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He sat on the bed next to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Don't be silly, Zyphre," said Lydia. "There's nothing wrong."

"Lydia, I am not a stupid man," said Zyphre. "If you really don't want to tell me, that's more than fine with me. But I know something's up."

Before he knew what was happening, Lydia had thrown herself against him and was crying heavily into his chest. Confused and very out of his comfort zone, he just sat there awkwardly and let her, not laying a hand of comfort on her.

"I hate it here!" she sobbed. "I hate Nerull! My brother is the lord and has an heir! My father is dead! And I would never have known!"

"It's not that bad…" he tried weakly. "It was over the second you became immortal anyway." Even in his head the argument sounded weak, and Lydia only cried harder.

"How did you deal with leaving your family when you became immortal?" asked Lydia brokenly.

"I didn't," said Zyphre. "I don't have any family. The only person you could count, I hate to my very core. She could be dead for all I know. I don't give a fuck."

"Who is she?"

"My mother."

"That's horrible!"

"She's horrible."

"She's your mother!"

"She abandoned me to die and so I became the lord to spite her. Is that enough information for you?"

"Zyphre…"

"Forget it," snapped Zyphre, getting annoyed. "Family is overrated and we're all better off alone. Everyone in your family was going to die anyway. They're just doing it without you."

As soon as he said this, he saw the deep hurt in her eyes and knew he had said the wrong thing. Lydia looked away, her downcast eyes filling with tears again.

"Lydia, no, I didn't mean it like that…"

"Just go…"

"Lydia, I'm sorry!"

"No, you're not…"

"No, I'm not, but I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"You're completely right though… Life is moving on without me… If you see Nerull, you can tell him that I won't be leaving my chamber today, and you don't have to guard me…"

"Lydia, don't be like that…" he said weakly. "You know Nerull will beat you for just sitting around all day…"

"Why do you care about that?" she asked.

"I just do," he said. "You're pathetic when you're being beaten."

"Then what do you propose I do?" she asked.

"I…could stay here with you," he suggested, secretly hoping she'd say no.

Lydia looked at him with something akin to happiness in her eyes, snuggling against his chest again. His heart beat faster in nervousness into her ear. She looked surprised. "Your heart…it's beating."

"It does that," he said.

"But I thought you were…"

"Dead?" he finished. "No. I told you when you first arrived. Just don't question it, okay?"

Lydia nodded against his chest and smiled. "Okay."


	9. Snow

Zyphre felt that something was off as he started to wake up. For one thing, this bed was much softer than he remembered his bed being. For another, it was very warm and cozy, as opposed to the cold that usually penetrated his bedchamber. And finally there was a weight on his side and chest.

He opened his eyes to see Lydia sound asleep with her head on his chest. His breath caught in his throat and his heart started racing. He discreetly lifted the blanket and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were both fully clothed.

As he slowly and carefully extracted himself from being Lydia's pillow, he remembered the events of last night, or rather the lack thereof. Lydia had been upset and he had offered to stay with her to help her avoid Nerull's wrath. They had stayed in her room all day, with many awkward silences, and he guessed they fell asleep like that? Nothing had happened. Right?

He looked at Lydia. Her face was peaceful, her body relaxed. She looked more content than he had ever seen her. He let a small smile grace his lips for a moment, before realizing that he was watching her sleep like a creeper and looked away, blushing.

He turned to go, to retreat back to his chamber, when there was a soft groan behind him. Lydia was stirring. She yawned and stretched, sitting up. She smiled when she saw him.

"You're still here," she said. "I was afraid you wouldn't be."

"Y-you were?" asked Zyphre.

"Mhm," she said. "It's…nice. That there's someone there when you wake up who doesn't want to kill you or…or hit you…"

Years later, Zyphre would look back and have absolutely no idea what possessed him to say, "Well, at least I won't hit you. The killing, however, remains to be seen."

Lydia stared for a moment before looking at her lap and running her fingers through her hair. "So you still think that…" Her voice was quiet and rather sad. "After all this time I'm still just the girl you have to babysit…"

"Well…"

Lydia sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe you should go," she said in a would-be steady voice.

"Maybe I should," he replied. Lydia turned her face away and he smelled tears.

"What are you waiting for then?" she asked. "Get out."

"I'll see you later," he said. "Whether we want to or not."

He turned back again and opened the door, departing the room and shutting the door behind him. Lydia drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them.

"You stupid idiot," she breathed. "And you…how could you be stupid enough…to like a guy like that…?"

"That stupid wench," growled Zyphre to himself. "You're a monster. How could she think that I would…even for a minute…? That stupid, dumb, moronic, infuriating, beautiful, maddening, amazing woman… No! What are you even saying, you fool? You cannot, under any circumstances, fall for her. She is the enemy. She took away your pride, your dignity; she turned you into her lapdog. And even if she hadn't…you just can't… Get over yourself. She's not yours. She never will be. You don't like her. You hate her. I hate her. I hate her. I hate her."

"Muttering to yourself again, Zyphre?"

Zyphre jumped slightly and turned towards the sound of Nerull's voice. Coming down the corridor in the opposite direction, he stopped in front of Zyphre, playing with the blade of his scythe between his fingers. "They say it's the first sign of madness," he continued.

"It's far from the first sign," snickered Zyphre easily. "Believe me. Madness and I have danced hand in hand on more than one occasion."

"I wouldn't go too far, if I were you," said Nerull.

"Well thank the merciful gods that you're not me," said Zyphre. "I would never sacrifice these looks for your sake."

"You and Lydia have a job to do, so you would do well to stay within fetching distance," said Nerull, his unamused glare the only thing betraying that he had, in fact, heard Zyphre.

"Really? Oh goodie, it's been so long since one of those," he said. "I'd almost forgotten what the sun felt like."

"It should feel like the heat of a thousand fires on every exposed inch of your flesh," said Nerull, pushing past him.

"That's the one!" Zyphre called after him. "Except that isn't what it feels like! It's just a bit warm for my liking! It's especially uncomfortable with the fur!"

Nerull ignored him and continued towards Lydia's chamber. Zyphre kept walking. He wasn't quite out of earshot when the faint shout of, "What the hell do you think you're crying about, stupid bitch?" echoed out of Lydia's room.

* * *

><p>Lydia was in Nerull's soul room when Zyphre arrived, answering his summons. She was sitting in shadow with her head bowed and her hair covering her face. She looked up when Zyphre closed the door behind him, quickly looking away. She subconsciously reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, in doing so revealing a hand-shaped mark around her wrist and a dark bruise on her cheek, neither of which had been there when he had left her room that morning. She quickly realized that she had just shown it and hurriedly adjusted her hair to let it fall back to hide the dark bloom of color, but he had already seen.<p>

"So what's this big job?" asked Zyphre, pretending for her sake not to have seen.

"Madness has set up shop in Waterdeep," said Nerull. "He needs my orders. You will deliver them to him. This is covert and you will not be seen under any circumstances."

Zyphre cringed a bit. "Have I ever mentioned how much I detest your avatar?" he asked.

"Countless times," said Nerull. "Kindly do not rip out his tongue this time. It was highly inconvenient waiting for it to grow back."

"I won't rip out his tongue if he won't talk."

"_Zyphre_."

"It was a joke!" he said. "Well, mostly."

"Just shut your blathering noise hole and get out of my sight," said Nerull. "And if you must kill anyone, it's _her_ job. Not yours. You are merely the bodyguard. Am I understood?"

"Transparently," said Zyphre with a mock curtsy.

"Don't ever do such a ridiculous display in my sight again," commanded Nerull.

Zyphre laughed and took the supply bag and Lydia's upper arm, pulling her from the room. She immediately started to protest.

"Hey! Stop pulling! I can walk on my own! Let _go_ of me!" She wrenched her arm out of his grip and glared at him. Zyphre allowed her to regain her arm and transformed into a bat.

"After you, my lady," he said with a mocking snicker.

"Ugh, you're a disgusting excuse for a person!" shouted Lydia, storming towards the front doors and the portal to the mortal realm.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," he said cheerfully, gliding after her.

"Then perhaps you should reevaluate yourself," she hissed.

"Hmm, let me think. No."

"I can't believe I let myself be weak in front of you!" said Lydia, affronted.

"Please. You didn't let yourself do anything. To let yourself be weak you have to be strong sometimes," he said.

Lydia let out a noise of frustration and stepped through the portal, Zyphre flying out after her. She stepped into a good six inches of snow and her hands came up to start rubbing her upper arms. Her gown has no sleeves.

"Huh, it's a little chilly out," said Zyphre, transforming and dropping into the snow. "I didn't know it was winter on the mortal plane, did you?"

Lydia shook her head and rubbed her bare flesh harder, her breath making a cloud in front of her. "You shouldn't be in your true form," she said shortly.

"Nonsense," said Zyphre. "There's no one around and we're in the middle of the forest. It's almost nightfall. I know where Waterdeep is from here, but we won't get there till tomorrow. We should walk for a bit and then set up camp."

Lydia didn't reply, but she started walking. Zyphre took her arm and guided her in the right direction, walking a bit ahead of her. A rather tense silence permeated the air between them, neither of them speaking. When night fell, the temperature dropped at least another ten degrees. Zyphre kept walking, mostly ignoring the sound of Lydia's teeth chattering. It was close to midnight when he stopped.

"It's getting late," he said, dropping the supply bag into the snow. "We'll set up camp hear and leave for Waterdeep at dawn."

Lydia sat down on a snow covered log as Zyphre unrolled the tent and started to set it up, clearing snow from the site he chose. She was freezing.

"Can we make a fire?" she asked, teeth chattering.

"No," said Zyphre. "We can't be seen, remember?"

"Right," said Lydia, looking down at her knees.

As soon as Zyphre got the tent up, Lydia went inside it. Zyphre repacked the things that he had taken out to find the tent and went inside after her, tying the door flap shut. He set a lantern down in the middle and lit it, casting a small amount of light, not even enough to show through the canvas.

Lydia moved forward to the lantern, huddling near the tiny flame. Her nails and lips were blue. She was shivering so violently Zyphre was almost afraid for her. Her breath was making clouds in front of her.

"You, uh, you look cold," he said unhelpfully.

"I'm absolutely freezing," she said in a slightly cracked voice.

Zyphre frowned a little and walked past her to throw the bag in the corner and get out the bedrolls. She was shaking so hard behind him that he could hear it. He sighed.

Suddenly something very warm was draped around Lydia's shoulders. Lydia grabbed it and pulled it tight around her, thinking it was a blanket. For some reason her numbed brain couldn't grasp, it was warm with body heat.

Zyphre walked past her again and threw down the bedrolls on the other side of the lantern. Lydia looked up at him to thank him for the blanket when she saw what he was wearing. He was dressed in just his pants and the red tunic he wore under his trenchcoat. For the very first time she saw the coat of arms embroidered on the back in darker red thread of a bat in flight. She looked down at what was wrapped around her and stammered.

"Y-you gave me your coat?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nerull would have my head if I let you freeze to death," was all he said.

"I've never seen you take this off, not even once," she said.

He shrugged. "Cold doesn't really bother me. Take good care of it until I get it back, okay? It's a trophy."

Lydia drew it tighter around her and when he wasn't looking brought the collar up to her nose, inhaling deeply. It smelled like him. She wasn't certain why this made her smile. "Thank you," she said.

"Don't mention it," he said, climbing into the bedroll furthest from the lantern. "Good night."

"Wait," she said. "I'm still really cold…c-can we…share…?"

To Lydia's surprise, Zyphre blushed a little. "Sure, I guess," he mumbled. "It'll be a tight fit though…"

"I don't care," she said. "I'll die if I don't warm up…"

Zyphre turned his face away, blushing harder, and lifted the bedroll to allow her to climb in. Lydia stood up stiffly from the cold with his coat wrapped around her entire body, the tail dragging on the ground. She came over and snuggled up very close to Zyphre, who turned even redder as he leaned across her to close the bedroll and let no heat escape.

Wrapped in his warm trenchcoat and pressed tightly against his side, Lydia laid her head on Zyphre's chest and sighed contentedly.

"Yeah," she said. "This is kind of a tight fit."

"Are you warmer?" Zyphre asked a little nervously.

"Yeah…this is nice," she said, closing her eyes.

"This is really awkward, all things considered…"

"For the purposes of tonight, I've forgiven you," she mumbled.

Zyphre had to force down the feelings of happiness and relief upon hearing her say that as he wrapped his arms around her shivering frame and closed his eyes as well.


	10. Grief

Zyphre cleaned the blood out from under his claws with his tongue as they exited Waterdeep. He sat on a rather repulsed Lydia's shoulder, licking his claws clean. She drew his coat tighter around herself and cleared her throat.

"Was it necessary to sever his arm?" she asked in a tight voice.

"Yes," said Zyphre.

"Nerull told you not to."

"Nerull says many things."

"How are you going to explain this one?"

"That I followed his orders," said Zyphre, finishing his left claws and moving to his right. "He told me not to rip out his tongue again. The rest of his body was fair game."

Lydia groaned. "You're impossible sometimes."

"I really hate the Prince of Madness," said Zyphre as if this justified his actions.

"Good for you," said Lydia. "He seemed…charming…I guess."

"He groped you."

"I'm aware."

"So I ripped his arm off."

"I saw."

"And beat him with it a bit."

"You have absolutely no sensitivity or tact, do you?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied. He leaped off her shoulder and transformed, dropping into the snow. "So shall we go back?"

Lydia sighed. "I suppose we might as well…" she mumbled.

"Don't want to go back?" he asked, straightening up.

"Can you blame me?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied.

"Yeah…I'll ready the spell…here's your coat back," she said, taking it off and handing it over. Zyphre took it back and put it on, fastening the gold chain across the chest.

Lydia reached for his hand, stopped, and grabbed his sleeve instead. She cast the teleport spell and they reappeared next to the portal in the front hall.

"I'll drop the bag off in my chamber and then I'll go with you to report to Nerull," said Zyphre, walking off towards his chamber. Lydia followed after him.

As they approached Zyphre's bedchamber, they saw that someone had made camp outside it. Draesen was slumped against the wall next to the door. He was holding a nearly empty bottle of wine diluted with blood to make it drinkable for him. He looked an absolute mess.

"Draesen!" Lydia greeted happily, running forward. She stopped when she saw the state he was in. "Are you okay?" He shrugged and didn't answer.

"What's wrong, man?" asked Zyphre, walking past Lydia to him. The smell of the alcohol got stronger every step. "Are you _drunk_?"

"A little," he said, slurring.

"Draesen, you never drink," said Zyphre, actually sounding a little concerned. "What happened?"

Draesen just looked at the floor and didn't answer. His eyes were dull and lifeless. Lydia looked between the two of them, unsure of what to do.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Could you leave us alone for a little bit?" asked Zyphre. He gripped Draesen's arm and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, stand up. I'll take that," he said, taking the bottle of wine out of his hand. "We can talk in here."

Lydia watched him lead Draesen into his bedchamber and sit him down on the bed, coming back and shutting the door. She started to walk away to respect their wishes for privacy when she heard the reason for Draesen's depression.

"So tell me what happened," came Zyphre's voice. "Here. Drink this. Get the poison out of your system. Now what happened? You can tell me, I'm here for you."

"Katrine," Draesen answered in a thick voice.

"What about Katrine? Is she okay? Did something happen?"

"She's dead."

Lydia stopped. There was a very thick silence on the other side of the door.

"…Oh," said Zyphre finally. "I-I'm sorry, she…h-how did it happen, if I may ask?"

"Staked," choked Draesen. "She turned to dust in front of me."

"I'm…I'm sorry," said Zyphre. "When?"

"Last night."

"Was it just a run-of-the-mill vampire hunter or something bigger than that?"

"A friend. He turned on us. His name is Vance. I…I don't think you know him…"

Lydia knew she should go. They had wanted privacy after all, and now she saw why. But she couldn't help but be disgusted at his lack of sensitivity. Draesen's wife had been murdered and here he was asking questions instead of offering comfort.

"If you want to stay here until you get back on your feet, you're more than welcome to."

"Th-thank you, my lord…Zyphre…"

"Take some time off work, too."

"N-no...no, I can't. You have lady Lydia to watch, you don't have time to–"

"She'll be fine. Let me take care of the paperwork and everything. You just get yourself back up."

"No, really…the work, it…it calms me. Distracts me. Don't take that away…"

"Are you sure? I can do it, not a problem."

"You can barely handle your own job…you can't handle both yours and mine…"

Zyphre laughed a little. "Just don't push yourself because you think you have to do it, okay?"

"Thank you…"

"It'll be okay, Draesen. We'll get you through this. It'll take some time, but we will. I promise. You'll be okay."

Lydia finally pulled herself away and resumed walking towards her chamber. Despite the grief of the situation, she couldn't help but smile a little. She had liked Katrine, and she felt badly for Draesen, but it had just been proven that Zyphre did have tact and sensitivity. He wasn't as bad a guy as he tried to be, and that was a comforting thought.


	11. Suicide

Draesen stayed with Zyphre in his chamber for a long while. After one excruciatingly awkward day and night, Zyphre saw to it that a second bed was obtained. Draesen recovered from his loss, albeit rather slowly.

Zyphre gradually began to see Lydia is a whole new light. No matter how much he tried to, his feelings for her became warmer and warmer until he was happy just seeing her, and when she had a new bruise or cut, he felt something akin to protectiveness. Something feral inside him was stirring and there was nothing he could do about it.

Nerull was becoming increasingly violent and Lydia becoming more timid, both around him and in general. Her eyes always lit up when Zyphre showed up, even though she tried to hide it. They still bickered and fought and put up an act, but there was little they could do to deny what was happening, though Zyphre certainly tried.

Zyphre and Draesen were lying in their respective beds. It was nearly dawn. Zyphre had woken up awhile ago but was reluctant to get out of bed; Draesen had just gone to bed and was trying to fall asleep.

"She has really pretty hair," he said into the darkness.

"Mm?" mumbled a half-asleep Draesen. "Who does, my lord?"

Zyphre blushed. "I didn't actually mean to say that out loud. That was supposed to stay a thought."

"Well it didn't," Draesen mumbled. "Lady Lydia?"

"Y-yeah…" he said, red-faced. "It's all long and soft and it's a weird color, like red and blonde combined…"

"That's called strawberry blonde, my lord…"

"Mm…she smells pretty too…and she's got nice skin…"

"I think you're still half-asleep, my lord. It's unlike you to ramble about this kind of thing…" Draesen rolled over to try to resume his sleeping.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Zyphre mumbled. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes again. He then murmured so quietly it was almost inaudible, "I think I'm in love with her…"

Draesen sat bolt upright. "Repeat that."

"I…I think…that I'm in love with Lydia," he said, sitting up slowly. Despite years of denying any feelings for her, now that he said it, it felt right.

"She's married," said Draesen.

"I am acutely aware of this fact," he says. "You're better with women than I am. What do I do?"

"Are you going to tell her?" he asked.

"Of course not!" said Zyphre. "She probably hates me! I'd just make a fool of myself. I meant what do I do to get rid of these feelings because I'm sick of them."

"You don't," said Draesen. "You can't just get rid of love."

"But I can't live with it," he said. "So I guess I just…ignore it? She probably hates me anyway…she doesn't want to hear it…"

"She doesn't hate you," said Draesen, flopping back down on his bed.

"What do you know?"

"I know what I observe," he said into his pillow. "Now get out of bed and go tell her. The worst thing that can happen is the friend zone."

"What the fuck is the friend zone?"

"It's when a woman decides that you're her friend and you become a completely non-sexual entity to her. Like her brother. Or a cat."

"…I don't think I want that."

"Just get out of here so I can sleep."

Zyphre got out of bed and started to get dressed. He was going to go see Lydia, but he wasn't sure he was going to tell her. He hadn't even been sure he was going to tell Draesen. Maybe he had not even been aware of it himself. It had just slipped out.

* * *

><p>Lydia had her window open, looking out at the sunrise. She leaned against the sill, steeling her courage. She looked at the stone floor six stories below her. It looked delightfully uninviting. She hoisted herself up and stood precariously on the narrow windowsill. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.<p>

Zyphre opened the door to her chamber to see Lydia standing on the windowsill looking down. "Lydia?" he questioned.

She stepped off and vanished.

"Lydia!" Zyphre cried in alarm. He ran to the window using his vampiric speed and caught her wrist as she fell.

And so they hung there, Zyphre half out the window holding onto her, and Lydia dangling from his grip. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Good morning," said Zyphre.

"Let me go," said Lydia.

"No," he said.

Lydia twisted her hand around and dug her nails into his wrist. He flinched and winced but only tightened his grip.

"Please, Zyphre," she said in a low voice. "I can't stay here. I can't stay married to that man. I can't. Please…let me fall."

Zyphre started to pull her back up, bracing himself against the windowsill. He pulled her back into the room and finally let her drop three inches to the floor. He shut her window and locked it, twisting the lock off.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "Do you know what would have happened if I had arrive five seconds later?"

"Why did you do that?" she demanded right back. "I hate it here! I hate everything about this place! Why did you do that!" She started to cry. "What made you do that…?"

Zyphre sat her down on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She froze.

"I did it because…I guess…I'd be pretty sad if you died," he mumbled.

She looked up at him and to his surprise her eyes lit up a little. "You…you would?" she asked. "Do you mean it?"

"Well…yeah," he said.

She smiled and buried her face in his chest. "I thought you hated me…"

"Only…sometimes…rarely…on rare occasions…"

She smiled against his chest. "I'll take it…thank you…"

Zyphre inhaled, getting the scent of her hair. She had a beautifully sweet scent. It was a long time before Lydia was able to get up, and when she had, Zyphre realized that he hadn't told her what he had wanted to. He decided that now simply wasn't the time. But there was no more use in denying it. He was in love with Lydia.

And maybe, just maybe, she was in love with him too.


	12. Pleasure

Draesen moved out shortly after Lydia had attempted suicide. Zyphre, though grateful to have his old room back to himself, worried about him in that big, lonely tower of his all by himself. He seemed to be coping with the death of his wife, but there was definitely a change in his behavior.

Lydia did not attempt suicide again. Oddly enough though, every time Zyphre showed up unexpectedly, she would blush and become flustered for a bit before just smiling every time she thought he wasn't looking. He noticed that she played with her hair a lot more now, but wasn't entirely certain what that meant.

Zyphre was still incredibly adept at making a situation extremely awkward with just a single sentence. As was the case on that morning.

"Good morning, Lydia," he greeted, entering her room. "You smell sexually frustrated."

"Ex-excuse me?" she stammered, turning bright red. "That's a smell?"

"Yes," said Zyphre. "I can smell each individual hormone change. For instance—"

"Stop talking," said Lydia. She looked down at her lap, blushing furiously.

Zyphre grinned and went over to her bed, sitting on it. "So I don't think I've ever once seen you and Nerull like…_together_. When's the last time you two…?"

Lydia let out an affronted noise and stood up so as not to be sharing the bed with him. "That is completely, unequivocally, indefinitely _none of your business_!" she shouted.

"But you want to tell me," he smirked.

"I most certainly do not!" she protested.

"Okay," said Zyphre. "I'll just ask Nerull. I'm sure he respects you enough to not disclose that information."

Lydia smacked him across the face. Zyphre, not having expected it, turned his head to the side with a cry.

"I really hate you," she said. "But to shut you up I'll tell you. It was the night I first arrived here."

Zyphre looked more stunned by this than the slap. "That was almost five hundred years ago," he said. "No wonder you're craving it."

"Ugh, you're disgusting! Get out!" she said, pointing to the door.

"Aw, but then your _amazing_ husband will worry that you don't have your big strong bodyguard," he laughed.

Lydia picked up a shoe and threw it at him. "Out! Out! He didn't even try! Forget I said that! Get out!"

Zyphre ducked the shoe and left the room, snickering. After all this time, getting under her skin still gave him a thrill. He was about halfway back to his chamber when he had a realization.

"Hahahaaa…wow, I'm retarded," he said to himself. "My idiocy knows no bounds with her…No wonder she hates me…"

He felt like he should go back and apologize, followed by the thought that he really didn't want to. He was no good with apologies and he was sure she really didn't want to hear it. He resumed walking back to his room.

* * *

><p>And so they spent the day apart. Lydia fumed and Zyphre worried. Neither one left their room.<p>

Lydia was pacing her room. Night had fallen. Everyone else was asleep, except perhaps the object of her thoughts, but if he hadn't shown up yet, he probably wasn't going to. She twisted her hands nervously. Sparks and flames started to rise up from her hand and she tried to calm herself down.

Why was she so nervous? Oh, right, _Zyphre_ of all people had read her like a book. Maybe she should…no. What if someone walked in on her? What if _he_ walked in on her? Did it matter? If he could smell that, then surely he'd smell this too and know exactly what she'd done.

But she wanted to. She wanted to every time she saw him or thought about him. She was attracted to him. But surely his dysfunctional male brain hadn't picked up on that. And from his behavior, he clearly didn't feel the same… But she _wanted_ to.

But he'd know. He'd be able to smell it all over her and no doubt he'd make a comment or tease her or some other thing she'd rather avoid. But right now, at this moment, did she care?

She found she didn't.

* * *

><p>Zyphre lay awake in bed. The things he had said to her were eating at him. He wanted her to like him. He thought it would make not being able to actually have anything with her less painful. He sighed and rolled over onto his stomach. He wanted to get up and go say he was sorry. It was late though. She might already be asleep.<p>

But if she wasn't, he thought, getting out of bed, he would finally man up and just apologize. Maybe he wouldn't tell her how he felt today, but he would at least apologize and show her that he could be a little more than a worm.

He pulled his shirt back on and leaves his room. The halls were empty; everyone was asleep. He liked it best when the castle seemed deserted. He made his way leisurely to Lydia's room, hoping she was still awake. He was right outside when he heard moaning.

"Aaahhhh…Zyphre…Zyphre…aaahhhhnn, Zyphre!"

Zyphre's first instinct upon hearing his name in that tone was to open the door.

Lydia was lying on her bed, completely naked. Her eyes were closed and her face was flushed. One of her hands was massaging and squeezing her breast while the other was down between her legs. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open, saw who it was, and let out a shriek. She rolled off the bed and dove under her blankets.

Zyphre's face turned almost as red as hers, turning away from her. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" he said repeatedly, covering his eyes.

"Don't look!" she shouted. "Get out! Get out! Don't ever speak of this again!"

"Agreed!" he said.

He shut the door and bolted back to his room. He slammed the door behind him and leaned against it, panting. He was still blushing furiously. Great, now she really would hate him, if she didn't already.

And then his panicked brain finally caught up with the situation. Yes, he had walked in on her pleasuring herself, and yes, it would be awkward tomorrow morning, but why had he gone in there in the first place? He had gone in there because she had cried out his name. She was masturbating to _him_.

A stupid grin spread on his face. So she did like him after all. He had done it. He had some way, somehow, won the affections of that woman. Gods, she was so beautiful. She was perfect. The curves of her body were flawless.

Zyphre thought about how much he would enjoy running his hands and his tongue over those curves, over her soft, supple flesh. His pants started to become tight. Far from the first time he had become aroused thinking of her, this was the first time that it was so insistent. It had been a long time…

He moved to his bed and slowly slipped his pants off. He closed his eyes and began pleasuring himself to thoughts of her. He moaned her name into the darkness of his room. When he finally cried out his climax, he imagined her reaching hers right along with him.


	13. Fire

"Excellent, Lydia, excellent," said Corellon, circling around her and making minute adjustments to her form. "There. Now take a deep breath and try it again."

Lydia breathed in deeply and tried the spell again. Instead of the small bursts of flame she had produced before, this time a steady stream shot forth, engulfing the target dummy and setting it ablaze. Lydia's expression became thrilled as she watched the dummy disappear in the raging inferno.

"_Excellent_ work, Lydia," said Corellon. "You've been practicing in my absence."

"Thank you, master," she said happily, almost bouncing on the spot.

Zyphre lurked on the edge of the courtyard where they were practicing. While it was true that he didn't need to guard her while she was with her tutor, he found there was nothing he would like to do more than watch her practice. It was well worth it in his opinion; he had never seen her this happy. Never before had he seen her eyes light up when she succeeded at her magic. And so he stayed out of the way, in his bat form up in the branches of the single dead tree that adorned the courtyard, silently watching her practice with a warm glow.

He and Lydia were finally getting back to relative normalcy. They had both known that it would be awkward after he had walked in on her. They just hadn't known it would be awkward for so long. For weeks they had been unable to look each other in the eye and Lydia hadn't even been able to speak to him. She was still unable to look at him without blushing, but it was getting less and less noticeable.

Corellon put out the fire with a quick water spell and turned to his student. "I do believe we're finished for today," he said. "You're improving dramatically. Keep practicing and you'll master this in no time. However, if you're ever on the mortal plane you must be _very_ careful to keep a hold on it. It will be much harder for your body to contain the magic of a demi-goddess without the castle's protection now that you've become so much more powerful. It would be all too easy for you to lose control down there."

Lydia smiled and inclined her head to her master. "Do you have any news on my family?" she asked eagerly.

"Uh…yes, I do, but it's probably not the kind that you want to hear," said Corellon.

"Tell me anyway," she said, her expression becoming worried.

Corellon sighed. "Your brother is dying," he said. "His daughter is preparing to take the throne. But he won't be around much longer."

Lydia looked as if she'd been slapped. "Forgive me…I…I have to go…"

Corellon nodded in understanding as she turned around and started to retreat back to the castle. Zyphre jumped from the tree and transformed back, running to catch up with her.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I have to see Nerull," she said, walking purposefully towards his workplace.

"Really? Well, that's a first," he says. "Is this about your brother?"

"Yes," she said, her face set.

"Lydia–"

"You can't stop me!" she said. "Don't even try!"

"He doesn't take requests, you know that!" protested Zyphre.

"Then stay outside!" Lydia shouted, throwing open the door to Nerull's workplace and walking inside, instantly falling to her knees in a respectful bow, in the hopes that this gesture would make him less angry with her intrusion. Zyphre sighed inaudibly and slunk in after her.

"Knock in the future," said Nerull calmly. Zyphre narrowed his eyes slightly. Calm was dangerous.

"My lord Nerull," Lydia said. "I humbly request to be allowed down onto the mortal plane, if you would be so kind as to allow it."

"I see," said Nerull. A smirk played on his lips. "And what is the occasion?"

"I have recently been informed that my brother is in poor health and may be passing on soon," said Lydia. "I implore you to allow me to see him in his final moments. Please."

"Is that desperation I sense?" asked Nerull cruelly.

"_Please_," begged Lydia. "If you allow me, I swear to you that this will be the last thing you will ever hear me ask of you."

"Come on, Nerull, she's–" started Zyphre.

"_Stay out of it_!" shouted both Nerull and Lydia. Zyphre shrunk back to his corner.

Nerull appeared thoughtful for a brief moment before giving his answer.

"No."

"No?" repeated Lydia.

"No," said Nerull. "No, I am afraid I am unable to grant your request."

"But…why?" Lydia asked weakly.

"Because when I claimed you, I thought I made it clear that you would have no more contact with your family," said Nerull. "You were to never speak with them again. They were to believe you were dead. And most importantly, and this is the one that brings me special joy, _it would make you happy_."

Lydia sat in disbelieving silence, a crushed expression on her face. "Now get out of my sight and speak no more of this," said Nerull, turning back around.

Lydia stood up and her hand was engulfed in a ball of fire. "You…bastard…" she breathed.

Zyphre, seeing that Lydia was swiftly travelling down the path that led to her death, stepped in and grabbed Lydia's arms.

"Let go of me, Zyphre!" she hissed.

"Zyphre, escort her from my presence," commanded Nerull.

Zyphre nodded and dragged her from the room. Lydia started to struggle and scream profanities. He dragged her all the way back to her chamber before finally letting her go. She immediately turned around and started beating his chest with her fist before breaking down and sobbing into it.

"It's not fair…it's not fair…" she cried.

Zyphre wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and he felt his heart break a little. It wasn't fair. After everything she had been put through the one time she asked for something, it was denied just because it would make her happy? He decided right there and then that he wasn't going to put up with it.

"We'll leave tonight," he said. "After the castle empties."

Lydia sniffed and looked up. "Really?" she asked timidly, like she was afraid to believe him.

"Yeah," he said. "We'll go see your brother tonight. I promise."

"But Nerull said…"

"Let me deal with Nerull," said Zyphre. "I can see this means a lot to you, so I'm willing to take the heat."

Lydia's eyes filled with tears again and she hugged him tightly, unable to put her thanks into words.

* * *

><p>Night fell, and the castle grew silent. Lydia opened her bedroom door and snuck out, closing it behind her as silently as she could. Zyphre was waiting outside her room. He nodded to let her know the coast was clear.<p>

They crept through the dark halls, ears pricked for the slightest noise. They made it to the portal and Zyphre gestured her through it, staring at the halls behind them, his improved night vision penetrating the darkness. Lydia slipped through the portal and after one last look behind him to make sure, Zyphre followed her through.

The air was cold and smelled of early spring. Zyphre had no idea where they were, but Lydia's face was set.

"Transform," she commanded. Zyphre raised an eyebrow but obeyed her, transforming into a bat and nestling himself on her shoulder. Lydia reached up and took hold of him. "Teleport."

The world around them vanished and the halls of a palace formed around them. Lydia put her hand up and gingerly touched the marble walls.

"I'm back…I'm really back…"

"It's amazing," said Zyphre. "So this is where you grew up?"

"Yes," said Lydia. "We need to find my brother…"

Lydia still knew the palace like the back of her hand. In no time at all, she was back on track and found her way to her brother's old room. Upon opening it, however, they saw that over the years it had been transformed into a girl's room, presumably his daughter's. Undiscouraged, Lydia made her way to the bedroom of the lord of the house. When she had last been here it had been her father's room.

Lydia knocked softly on the door. "Come in," said a young woman's voice. Lydia opened it.

Her brother lay in the bed with a young woman who could only be his daughter sitting at his side. Adonis was old and frail. His hair was grey. His eyes were dull. Still, there was a spark of recognition in them as he saw Lydia.

"Who are you?" asked the women with a touch of hostility. "What do you want?"

Adonis waved her down and tried to sit up, but the woman held him down. Adonis looked stunned before a smile touched his lips.

"Lydi…my favorite little sister," he breathed in an ancient, cracked voice.

Lydia smiled. "I'm here, Ado," she said, closing the door and coming forward. "I've come."

Adonis smiled. "You haven't aged a day," he breathed in wonder. "Are you here to escort me to the next life?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Lydia. "You're weak. You shouldn't be talking…"

"Who are you?" repeated his daughter.

"What's your name?" asked Lydia.

"Lydia," replied the girl. "Dia."

"Then I'm your namesake," she replies, turning her attention back to Adonis.

"That's impossible," said Dia. "My namesake died before I was born."

"And so I did," said Lydia sadly.

"Lydia…" said Adonis.

"Shh," she said. "You don't have to speak."

"It broke our parents' hearts when you disappeared," he said. "I…delayed my wedding in hopes of you being found…I wanted you to be there… But when father died…I had to…without you…"

"I'm here now," she said softly. She takes the hand not being held by Dia. "And I'll stay here."

Adonis closed his eyes. "Lydi…I'm glad I got to see you one last time…I'm glad to know that all this time…you were at peace…"

Lydia didn't have the heart to tell him how wrong he was.

* * *

><p>Adonis died near dawn. Lydia had not told him that she was not a ghost, nor was she there to ferry him to the next life, but believing that she was eased his passing. Zyphre stayed uncharacteristically silent the whole night, sitting inconspicuously on Lydia's shoulder, unwilling to intrude. When Adonis passed on, Dia began to cry. Lydia was just numb. Zyphre smelled the death and felt the misery penetrate the room and began to feel a little sad himself, even though he didn't know this man.<p>

Lydia stood up. Dia didn't even look up at her as she teleported away. She and Zyphre appeared in the forest outside of the elven capitol. She sat down on a dead log, buried her face in her knees, and started to cry.

Zyphre leaped off her shoulder and transformed. He sat next to her on the log. He looked up at the grey sky, dawn approaching.

"Do you want me to say anything?" asked Zyphre. "Because I don't know what I'd say."

"That's okay," said Lydia to her knees. "Just be here with me…"

Zyphre made to put his arm comfortingly around her, but as soon as their flesh touched there was a _sssss_ and he pulled his hand back with a yelp. He looked at his hand and his fingers were burned.

"Lydia, your skin feels like it's on fire!" he exclaimed.

Lydia looked up and rubbed her arms. "Oh," she said in a small voice. She stood up. "I have to go."

"What, why?" asked Zyphre. Still nursing his burned hand, he stood up too.

"Corellon told me not to lose control," said Lydia, small flames licking up from her body. "I just have to go; it's not safe for you to be near me!"

She turned and ran into the dark of the forest. Zyphre called her name and ran after her, holding his burned hand to his chest. The trees were thick and confusing and Zyphre quickly lost sight of her. He tried to sniff her out, but it was as if her scent were being burned away. All he could smell was smoke and flames around him.

He called her name again and again but she never answered. He swore and kept running blindly, trying to find her, all his senses dulled. Then he heard her scream. He whipped around in that direction and ran towards it as fast as the trees would allow.

He found her in a clearing. Her feet were not on the ground. She was levitating several feet in the air. She was no longer herself; her eyes had turned completely black, whites and all, as the magic possessed her. A ball of fire had formed around her, swirling, crackling, roaring. It was growing larger, expanding outwards as the magic coursed through her body. She was an unstoppable force like this.

"Lydia!" Zyphre called. She didn't reply or even acknowledge him.

She had to be stopped before she hurt herself or someone else. Zyphre approached her, squinting his eyes against the heat. He approached the highly intimidating ball of fire. He could reach her from here, but he would have to get burned. He hesitated for only a brief moment before deciding that he didn't care what happened to him, as long as she was alright.

He cringed and had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming as the flames licked at his arm. He gritted his teeth against the pain and grabbed Lydia's wrist. Her body flinched at his touch and her face turned towards him.

"Lydia!" Zyphre called. "Lydia, I know you're in there! You have to get a hold of yourself! You're losing control and you're going to hurt someone! But it's gonna be okay! You're gonna be okay! I promise! Because I'm gonna help you! I won't let anything happen to you!"

Lydia slowly descended to the ground, her feet gently touching the singed grass. The flames dissipated. Zyphre held back his whimper as the air hit his burns. Lydia's eyes slowly faded from solid black to having whites and emerald irises.

"Zyphre…" she said. "Uhm…"

"Oh, right, sorry," he said, letting go of her wrist and pulling his arm back.

"Oh, gods, your arm," whimpered Lydia. "I-I'm so sorry, is there anything I can…"

"It'll heal," said Zyphre. "I'm just glad you're okay…you are okay, right?"

She nodded. "I'm okay," she said. "Thank you for helping me…" She blushed and looked away.

"D-don't mention it…" Zyphre muttered, blushing and looking away too. He caught sight of his burns, cringed a little inside, and looked the other way.

The two of them stood in awkward silence for a moment, not speaking, not looking at each other. Then, almost in unison, they both turned towards each other and leaned in.

Electricity seemed to shoot through their veins as their lips crushed together. Lydia wrapped her arms around his neck while his rested gently on her waist. The spark that had been between them for decades had finally bloomed into a raging inferno that neither of them could tame even if they had wanted to. Their kiss became quite heated before Zyphre pulled away.

"Lydia, no," he panted. "We shouldn't, you're married—"

"Shut up and kiss me," she said breathily, forcing his head back down.

He found himself completely unable to object.


	14. Run

Zyphre hissed in pain as the cold water touched his burns. He lay on his stomach on the bank of a lake Lydia had found with his arm submerged, shredding grass with his intact hand to distract from the pain. Lydia flinched as he made a stained noise, forcing himself to submerge his wounds deeper.

"Does it hurt?" asked Lydia timidly.

"Only more than any injury I have ever received," replied Zyphre through gritted teeth.

"I'm so sorry," said Lydia. "This wouldn't have happened if not for me, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry," said Zyphre. "I don't blame you. You weren't yourself." Zyphre winced and started shredding grass more vigorously.

Lydia shifted and, for lack of anything better to do, started rubbing his back. She was acutely aware of how they lacked in the medicine department right now, and for that matter, every other department. They had taken nothing with them when they left. Zyphre relaxed a little at her touch, but she saw him twitching like he wanted to pull his wounds out of the icy lake.

"So," said Zyphre in a tight voice, trying to distract himself, "we kissed. What do you think that means for us?"

"It doesn't mean anything," said Lydia. "I mean, it _can't_ mean anything. What we have…we can't have it. I'm married, and he would kill us if he knew. You know that. As soon as we go back…we have to forget it happened."

"I won't be able to do that," said Zyphre.

"I won't either," Lydia admitted. "But we have to."

They sat in silence together for a few minutes before Zyphre spoke up again. "What if we never went back?" he asked.

Lydia looked up. "What?"

Zyphre rolled over to look at her, keeping his arm in the water. "What if we just…didn't go back?" he said. "I mean, we left without permission, and no one knows we're gone, at least not yet. What if we just ran away and never looked back? We never go back to Nerull. We never speak of it again."

Lydia looked surprised at his suggestion. "We wouldn't have an excuse to stay together anymore," she said.

"Do we need one?"

Lydia smiled. "No," she said, "I don't think we do."

She leaned down and kissed him softly. He returned it hungrily, his uninjured hand coming up and tangling itself in her hair. "It's your decision," he said when they broke apart. "Whether we stay or go, it's up to you."

Lydia sat back and thought about it. "I think…we should stay down here," she said.

"Really?" asked Zyphre, shocked.

"Yes," she said. "I don't like the idea of being on the run. In fact it terrifies me. But…any life at all is better than the one back at the castle. And as long as I'm with you…I feel like it'll be okay."

Zyphre smiled and rolled back onto his stomach. "I'm glad," he said. "Okay then. When we're done here I guess we'll move on. We'll get as far away from here as we can. He'll expect you to have come here. And we shouldn't use magic to get there either. Magic can be tracked. We can go back to the manor of the vampire lords. I'm technically supposed to be living there anyway, but Nerull knows I hate that house so it'll be the last place he'll expect. And maybe you can cast some protective spells around it or something. But yeah, we should leave as soon as we're done here." Zyphre looked pleased with himself for a moment before burying his face in the grass and moaning, "Oh, gods, this hurts so bad, when are we gonna be done here?"

He heard Lydia sigh followed by the sound of ripping fabric. He turned around to see her ripping off the bottom half of her skirt in strips. "Uhh…" he said, "what are you doing?"

"Makeshift bandages," she replied. "You can remove yourself from the water now."

Zyphre sat up, making a noise of pain. He hadn't thought through that the water would no longer be cooling his wounds. Lydia moved to the bank and started soaking the strips of fabric in the lake, digging up mud from the bottom and lathering it on one side of the bandages. Zyphre watched her curiously, not entirely sure he liked the fact that mud had somehow made its way into the equation.

"Okay," said Lydia when she finished coating the bandages in mud. "Hold out your arm."

Zyphre hesitantly obeyed, yelping like a kicked puppy when she started wrapping up his wounds tightly. He cringed a little as the mud was, in fact, being used on the inside. Lydia ignored his noises of pain and disgust as she wrapped him up, tying them off tightly.

"Oh, this is gross," cringed Zyphre. "What is the point of the mud?"

"Mud is good for burns," replied Lydia, standing up. "It cools the skin. Stop being such a baby. Let's get going."

"Ugghhh," he groaned. He transformed into a bat to find his fur singed and flesh still burned. "Do not put mud on me. I have to clean my fur with my teeth."

"Have it your way," she said. "I don't expect you to fly though." She offered him her hand. He climbed up into it and she moved him to her shoulder before moving on.

"How far is the manor?" asked Lydia.

"Days away," answered Zyphre. "Maybe a week. We can't get there with magic; he could track us if we tried."

"Then it looks like we're walking," said Lydia.

And so they walked. Using the forest as cover, they encountered no one, which in their position was very fortunate. Every hour they were walking, every hour they were away from the castle and Nerull, Lydia grew tenser. The longer they were away, the greater the chance they had of being missed. Night fell before they found the road, and they camped in the forest. Lydia woke up in the middle of the night, screaming, having dreamed of being caught by Nerull. She refused to return to her slumber, and insisted that they continue moving in the dark.

It was nearing dawn when they finally encountered the road, though it was only with Zyphre's coaxing that Lydia was convinced to stay on it. His burns healed enough to tolerate flying towards the evening, and he began flying in order to scout ahead.

The sun had set when Zyphre's excited shout of, "Inn!" sounded above Lydia. He spiraled down to her shoulder contentedly and perched.

"How far?" she asked.

"Half an hour's walk?" Zyphre guessed. "Less if you hurry?"

"Why are you so excited?" she asked, picking up the pace all the same. "You seem perfectly content to sleep outside."

"A proper meal!" exclaimed Zyphre. When Lydia gave him a confused look, he clarified, "Last night's squirrel was okay but I need real blood to keep me going and get this wound healed."

"Zyphre!" Lydia gave him a disapproving look.

"What?"

"…Just don't kill anybody," she said, not even bothering to start that argument. "You can feed without killing, right?"

"Course."

"Do that then."

As they approached the inn and it came within smelling distance, Zyphre began to look and act uneasy. Lydia was almost at the front door when Zyphre suddenly said, "Maybe we shouldn't go in there."

"Why?" asked Lydia, her hand frozen on the handle.

"This place doesn't smell right," said Zyphre, shifting on her shoulder. "It gives me a bad feeling."

"But Zyphre," she protested, "we didn't expect to not be going back. We didn't take anything with us…I need some food at least…"

Zyphre hesitated. He nodded slowly. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he was expecting. Lydia opened the door of the inn. The stench of garlic smacked him in the face and he realized that it would be precisely as bad as he was expecting.

The innkeeper gave his new guest a cheery greeting, which Lydia politely returned, but Zyphre wasn't listening. He was looking above the front desk, where a string of garlic cloves hung from the ceiling above the counter. He tried to remember if vampires were common enough in this area to warrant such a precaution, but couldn't. This area was not under his jurisdiction, being the lord of the northwest, but under this stench he doubted he could remember anyway. He swayed violently, digging his claws into the fabric of Lydia's sleeve to keep himself on, the stench churning the contents of his near-empty stomach.

Lydia walked up to the counter, each step closer to the cloves of garlic making Zyphre more and more nauseous. Lydia too noticed the smell and looked up to see the garlic. "Why is that there?" she asked curiously, not noticing Zyphre lose the strength to stand and flop face down over her clavicle.

"Vamps are a big problem around here," the innkeeper answered. "Hanging that there mostly keeps 'em away. Don't wanna enter when it stinks of garlic."

"I suppose that makes sense," she said, resisting the urge to glance at Zyphre and give away a hint to his true form. "I would like a room for the night, but I don't have very much…if I can't afford a room I'll just buy some food instead."

The innkeeper counted out how much she had. "This is enough for one night and food to send you on your way."

"Oh, thank you," said Lydia happily.

"Is your familiar okay?" asked the innkeeper, staring at the little bat in concern.

Lydia looked down too and saw what had happened to Zyphre in just a few short minutes. He lay draped over her shoulder and clavicle with his wings hanging down limply. His crimson eyes were dull and lifeless and he was trembling and shuddering. He seemed paler under his fur. His wings were twitching like he was fighting the urge to fly away.

"Zyphre?" Lydia asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna be sick," he moaned in Draconic, still there enough to remember to use the only language true familiars could communicate in.

"What, how come?" asked Lydia.

"Oh gods, open the door!" he squeaked, covering his mouth with his claws. "Open the door!"

The urgency in his voice made Lydia return to the front door. As soon as she had cracked it enough to let his bat body through he darted away, faster than she had ever seen him fly. She quickly lost sight of him among the trees.

Lydia looked back at the innkeeper. "He has a very sensitive nose," she said, trying to hide her own confusion at Zyphre's behavior. "The garlic was probably too strong a scent for him…I'll be back."

She left the inn and proceeded into the outskirts of the forest. "Zyphre?" she called as she proceeded deeper. He didn't answer, but she heard the distant sound of retching. She proceeded towards it to find Zyphre in his normal form hunched over the roots of a tree. "Zyphre, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes…ugh…yeah…" Zyphre wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist and leaned his back against a tree trunk. He was much paler than normal and his shaking was visible even in the dark of the forest.

"You don't look alright," she said, approaching him.

"I'm fine now," he said. "Now that the smell is gone. Just…garlic doesn't sit well with me…"

"Clearly," she said. "I didn't know it affected vampires that much."

"Well, now you do," he replied, sinking down to sit on the ground.

"Would you like to find somewhere else to stay?" asked Lydia.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No. It's late and you need food and a bed. I'll find some sort of small animal and regain my strength…but I'm not going in through that lobby again…leave your window open. The smell shouldn't be too bad if you keep the door shut…stuff a towel in the crack at the bottom…"

"Are you sure?" asked Lydia.

"Yeah," he said, standing up shakily. "I'll be fine in a bit. Go on back. I'll catch up."

Lydia reluctantly obeyed him, going back to the inn and paying for her room. She did as Zyphre instructed and closed the door behind her, stuffing an extra blanket from the closet against the cracks to block any smell from the lobby and throwing the window wide open. She sat on the bed and lay back, waiting for Zyphre.

Zyphre flew into the room a short while later. He transformed into his usual form; he was still quite pale, but the quaking had stopped.

"I'm gonna stay in this form, if you don't mind," he said. "Nose isn't quite as sensitive as when I'm a bat." Lydia nodded her approval and Zyphre flopped back into a chair. He stretched out his bandaged arm and started unraveling the makeshift bandages.

"Ah! Zyphre, what are you doing?" asked Lydia.

"Getting rid of these," he replied. "Oh, yuuuuuck." He grimaced at the only partially dried mud coating his burns.

"Zyphre, it hasn't even been two days," protested Lydia, getting off the bed. "There's no way it's…"

Zyphre, ignoring Lydia, had gotten up and gone over to the open window, scrubbing the mud from his arm with his other hand. Lydia was shocked to see that the flesh underneath was still raw, red, and painful looking, but infinitely better than when she had bandaged him up. She watched him curiously as he wiped his arm clean and shook the excess mud from his hand like it was a venomous spider.

Lydia suppressed a giggle at his behavior. "It's so much better," she said, touching his arm gingerly. He hissed all the same and she let go. His flesh was still hot to touch. "I've never really seen your healing in action…"

"It would be healed already, but it wasn't just something hot, I was in contact with flame for an extended period of time," he said, wincing at the memory. "Fire and my kind don't…mix."

"Fire and most things don't mix," replied Lydia.

"Smartass," laughed Zyphre, examining his burns more carefully under the light. "Vampires are particularly flammable, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry again…"

"Don't worry about it," said Zyphre. "At the rate it's going it'll be gone by midday."

Lydia reluctantly nodded and sat back down on the bed. She looked down at her lap, unsure of what to do now.

"Go to sleep," said Zyphre. "You need your rest if we're travelling to the manor on foot."

"What about you?" asked Lydia. "You haven't slept at all since we left and you're ill. This bed is big enough for two…"

"What?" asked Zyphre, shocked. "No, no, I'll take this chair, or the floor…"

"No," protested Lydia. "Just…please don't fight me on this. You're injured and you still look ill. You should be comfortable."

"Lydia…" Zyphre stopped when he saw the look on her face. He gave in to her pout and sat on the opposite side of the bed. "I hope you don't expect me to cuddle you or something."

"Of course not," replied Lydia. "But we did kiss…"

"You're the one that said that couldn't mean anything!"

"That was before I knew we weren't going back."

Zyphre let out a soft laugh and kissed Lydia's forehead, stroking her hair slightly. Lydia was very surprised by this small show of affection. It was so…un-Zyphre-like. Before she could fully process what had taken place, Zyphre had pulled away, shed a few articles of clothing in preparation for sleep, and climbed in.

Lydia climbed in next to him. A barrier between the two of them had definitely been crossed when they kissed, but there was still an awkward tension from both of them as they both tried to decide whether they should be touching or not.

* * *

><p>Zyphre woke up first as the dawn light started to stream in through the window. He sensed another presence in the bed he was lying in and looked over to see Lydia sound asleep next to him. Next he noticed their hands. His left and her right were lying on the pillow in the middle, their fingers millimeters apart. He wondered for a moment if they had fallen asleep holding hands, but couldn't remember anything of the sort.<p>

He stretched his arm out to examine the burns. They didn't really hurt anymore, just stung a little. His arm was covered in what looked like bad burn scars, but they would fade within a few hours. Lydia made a small noise and rolled over, starting to wake up, pulling her hand away from his. Deciding to make it less awkward for her when she finally awoke fully, he climbed out of bed and pulled his shoes and coat back on.

Lydia fully awoke and sat up in bed a few minutes later. "Zy…phre?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long," he answered. "I'm sure he still has the garlic up. Go get the food and whatever else you need. I'll wait for you outside."

Lydia nodded. Zyphre jumped out the window, shifting into his bat form as he fell and flying off into the trees. Lydia couldn't help but smile. She gathered her few things, removed the blanket blocking the garlic stench from the door, and went downstairs to the lobby. She thanked the innkeeper for the night, purchased what food she could afford, and took her leave.

Zyphre glided down and nestled on her shoulder. "Feel better after sleeping in a bed?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," she said. "Feel better now that we're away from the garlic?"

"_Loads_."

Lydia laughed at his enthusiasm. Zyphre hummed happily. "What?" asked Lydia. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"I like it when you laugh," he said happily. "You do it so rarely."

"Wow, Zyphre, I'm…I'm flattered," she said, stunned that he had said something like that.

Lydia reached up almost subconsciously and touched his bat ear. It flicked away from her fingers purely on reflex. Zyphre looked up at her questioningly before she took the thin membrane of his ear between her thumb and finger, rubbing slowly. Zyphre just about felt himself melt, going limp and leaning into her touch. A low rumbling sound rose from his chest and Lydia laughed again.

"Are you _purring_?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Zyphre without hesitation.

"I didn't know bats could purr," remarked Lydia.

"I did. Don't stop."

Lydia resumed rubbing his ear and Zyphre continued to purr. He didn't know why this action was making him as content as he was, but he was so relaxed he was about to fall asleep.

His contentment was not meant to last. By mid-afternoon the road had veered off into a heavily forested area. The thick canopy of branches and leaves above their heads cast dark shadows over the path, making it seem later than it actually was. Zyphre and Lydia continued through the forested trail, but cautiously, Zyphre in particular on high alert. This place was not friendly to travelers.

It became dark very rapidly, much faster than the setting sun. Within minutes, it was as if they were encased in the deepest night. All noise stopped, the only sound being the eerie whistling of an ominous wind through the trees. To Zyphre, the comforting smells of the forest died away, leaving a faint lingering of the sickly smell of death.

"Zyphre…?" asked Lydia softly. "What's going on?"

Zyphre left her shoulder and shifted into his normal form, his muscles tensed. "I don't know," he replied. "We should keep moving. Be on your guard."

Lydia nodded and kept walking, feeling oddly safer with Zyphre at her side. The wind started to pick up, a torrent of dead leaves spiraling around them. As they watched, the trees directly in front of them began to blacken and die. A cackle of triumph sounded around them. Lydia grabbed Zyphre's hand in fear.

"Show yourself!" commanded Zyphre loudly.

The tornado of dead leaves gathered and spiraled in front of them. A figure formed within them. A tall, skeletal figure, wielding a sickle.

"Was it really necessary to force me to chase you all the way down here?" asked Nerull, running a finger along the blade of his sickle.

Lydia's resolve failed her. She yanked her hand out of Zyphre's and ran. Zyphre called after her in surprise. Nerull simply _tsk_ed and vanished, the faint screams of the dead sounding where he had been and fading away. He reappeared directly in front of Lydia, who bumped into him. Nerull grabbed both her wrists in his free hand, gripping tight enough to bruise. Lydia whimpered in fear and pain.

"Did you really think that you had any chance of escaping me when you pulled this little stunt?" sneered Nerull. "Did you think I wouldn't find you the second I wished it so?"

"I was kinda hoping, yeah," replied Zyphre.

"Then you are a fool," said Nerull cruelly. He shook Lydia, who whimpered. "This is my property. You took it away with the intent to keep it for yourself. That's stealing. I look down on thieves."

"Lydia isn't your _property_," hissed Zyphre, inexplicably angry. "She's her own person with her own life that you took from her."

"Kidnapping, then," said Nerull. "Whichever term you prefer, you've committed a crime, and criminals need to be punished." He smiled a truly evil smile and lifted Lydia off her feet by her wrists. "What do you think, wench? Execution? I'm thinking execution."

Lydia's eyes widened in fear, tears welling up. "No," she breathed. "No…no, please…please…don't kill him…please don't kill him, it was my fault too!"

"Shut up, Lydia!" snapped Zyphre, afraid she was going to get herself in too deep and end up hurt.

Nerull actually looked like he was considering Lydia's pleading, and much to their shock, he said, "Very well. I will not kill him."

"You won't?" asked Lydia breathlessly. "Oh, thank you…"

"_You will_."

"What?" asked Lydia. "No…no! You…you can't make me do that!"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, wench," said Nerull almost sweetly. He sheathed his sickle and put his hand on Lydia's forehead.

Immediately she began to struggle violently. "Aaahh! No! _Zyphre, run_!" she screamed. "Zy…!" She trailed off, her struggles abruptly ceasing. Nerull let go of her wrists, dropping her to her feet. She looked up at Zyphre and he was horrified to see that for the second time that trip her eyes were solid black.

"Master…" deadpanned Lydia. "What should I do to him, master?"

Nerull took his sickle and placed it in Lydia's hand, closing her fingers around the handle. "Be a dear, and kill him for me."

"Yes, master…" Lydia approached Zyphre with zombie-like speed, but Zyphre didn't move.

"Lydia, come on, stop," he tried to reason. "You don't want to do this. He's forcing you!"

Lydia got within arm's reach and swung the sickle at him. He dodged it. "Whoa! Watch it!" he protested. Lydia swung at him again and again, but she was not a fighter like he was and behaved predictably. He was able to avoid the sickle with ease, reasoning with her the whole time.

"This isn't you!" he cried. "I know this isn't you! You don't want to do this! I know you're still in there, Lydia! You're strong! Fight him!"

"Be silent and die, wretch," deadpanned Lydia.

Nerull watched the fight in disgust. Zyphre was simply out of Lydia's league. She was too inexperienced while Zyphre had centuries of combat experience behind him. Lydia was never going to kill him like this. He would wait for an opening, and then drop the vampire lord's guard…

Said opening came in just a few more seconds. Zyphre grew tired of the banter between swings and struck Lydia's wrist as she tried to slit his throat. The hit threw Lydia off balance and she stumbled backwards, left wide open. Zyphre closed the distance between them and grabbed her shoulders tightly, shaking her once. "_SNAP OUT OF IT_!"

Lydia's eyes changed back to green. She threw herself on Zyphre, hugging him tightly. Zyphre stood there awkwardly for a full second before returning the hug.

"Zyphre…you saved me…" whispered Lydia.

Zyphre nuzzled her hair, inhaling her scent. "I love you, Lydia," he breathed into her hair.

Lydia opened her eyes, her face out of Zyphre's sight and her eyes solid black again. Zyphre hadn't noticed that her eyes were still a bit darker than normal when they changed. With Zyphre still unaware of the change, Lydia lifted the sickle and plunged it deep into his flesh.

Pain exploded behind Zyphre's heart as the sickle stabbed into his back, cutting through flesh and muscle like butter. Blood immediately began to soak into his coat and tunic, spreading like wildfire. Lydia wrenched the sickle out of his flesh and blood poured even faster.

"Ly…dia…" he choked, blood filling his mouth.

Nerull smirked and released Lydia from his control. Her eyes turned their proper green and her mind became her own again. She had no memory of the last few minutes, only aware that she and Zyphre were embracing. The bloody sickle clattered into the dirt.

"Zy…phre?" she questioned. Zyphre started to sink to his knees, losing consciousness. "Ah! Z-Zyphre!"

She moved her hands to try to hold him up and only then saw how covered in blood they were. She turned white as the blood drained from her face. "Oh, gods…" she whimpered. "What did I do? What did I do to you?"

Zyphre's unconscious body leaned heavily against her. Lydia kneeled with him, resting his head against her chest and holding him tightly, pressing her hands hard against the wound to try to slow the bleeding. Blood spilled down his chin. Lydia's eyes filled with tears and she gave Nerull a truly hateful look.

"_What did you make me do to him_!" she screamed at him.

"You killed him, as a true harbinger of death should," he answered. "Leave the body. We're going."

"No!" she yelled. She blinked and tears rolled down her cheeks. "He's not dead yet! I-I can still save him! I'm not leaving him here to die!"

"You will!" growled Nerull.

Lydia flinched at the venom in his voice, but held her ground. "Please…I'm begging you…he's dying… I'm not leaving this plane without him… If you want me to leave him here to die alone…then you're going to have to kill me too."

Nerull approached her, fire in his eyes. "And what makes you believe that I have such a problem with making that happen, wench?" he hissed.

Lydia tightened her hold on Zyphre's body as if she expected Nerull to snatch him away from her. "Please," she said in a steady voice despite her tears. "Just let me take him back. I'll do anything. I'll be yours…forever. You can own me until the end of time. I won't run away again. I won't disobey you again. I won't ask you for anything else ever again. I'll be completely, utterly, only yours, to do as you please with. I swear. Just let me help him."

Nerull looked her up and down as if looking for a sign of her seriousness.

"…Very well. I accept your terms. Pick up the wretch and hurry up."

Lydia stood, holding Zyphre tight, leaning him against her shoulder. "Yes…master…"


	15. Peace

_For Dylan Adams_

_My muse._

_My inspiration._

_My soulmate._

_You are the Zyphre to my Lydia._

_Happy anniversary._

* * *

><p>Lydia followed Nerull into his castle, the unconscious form of Zyphre draped against her, blood dripping onto the stone floor. Nerull led the way to Zyphre's chamber and even opened the door for Lydia. Lydia half-dragged, half-carried Zyphre to his bed, laying him on his back so his weight would put pressure on the wound.<p>

"Now leave," said Nerull.

"What?" asked Lydia. "But you said I could stay…you said I could help him…"

"You have helped him," said Nerull. "He's comfortable now. As for you, you will be confined to your room until further notice."

"But–!"

"Do not argue with me, wench," hissed Nerull.

"With all due respect…I would like to stay with him until I see him treated," said Lydia timidly. She glanced down at Zyphre. He was deathly pale and blood had begun to soak in a puddle around him.

"Did you forget already?" asked Nerull. "You swore yourself to me, body and soul. You will do as I command with no argument. And I command you to stay in your room until I retrieve you!"

"He will _be_ treated though, right?" asked Lydia desperately.

Nerull silenced her with a slap across the face. "Silence! Begone from this room!"

Lydia reluctantly left Zyphre's chamber and walked dejectedly to her own. She threw herself face down on her bed and hugged her pillow tightly. She lay there, waiting and terrified. Terrified for Zyphre, but too terrified to leave the room against Nerull's orders. She waited for him to come and tell her something, anything, and wondered if Zyphre really was being treated. She prayed he was. He would die if he didn't get help soon…

Nerull entered her bedchamber without knocking a couple of hours later. Lydia sat up on her bed and looked at him silently, waiting for him to speak.

"I will not be in the castle for a few days," he announced. "You are not to leave this room. You are not to see the wretch. To do either will forfeit both your lives. I will be stationing guards outside your room to make certain you follow my instructions."

"Is he okay?" asked Lydia desperately.

Nerull ignored her and left the room. Lydia got a glimpse of her undead guards before Nerull shut the door. Lydia heard the lock click. She hugged her pillow tightly again and started to cry, burying her face in it.

By the time night fell Lydia couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand not knowing what had happened to Zyphre. It was time to put her magic to a real test. She fished the hidden first aid kit she kept out from under her bed, hoping she wouldn't need it.

She silently unlocked the door with magic and cracked the door open. She murmured a sleep spell and her skeleton guards dropped, unconscious in their deep, magical slumber. She stepped over them and ran towards Zyphre's chamber. She didn't run into anybody, but then she didn't expect to.

She reached Zyphre's bedroom door, which to her relief was not locked. Closing the door behind her softly, she looked at Zyphre, hoping to see him peacefully asleep with his wound treated and no longer life-threatening. Instead she found him exactly as she's left him, unconscious with a puddle of blood around him. The bottom of Lydia's stomach dropped out, realizing he's been bleeding all this time and no one had been to see him.

She ran over to him and dropped the first aid kit on the edge of the bed. She grabbed for his wrist, feeling desperately for a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief to feel the faint fluttering under her fingertips.

Lydia kneeled over Zyphre, straddling his waist and undoing the chain that held his trenchcoat closed. She didn't notice Zyphre's eyelids flutter as she started to slide it off. Upon getting the troublesome article off, she discarded it on the floor and started to push his tunic up. She gasped, startled, as Zyphre's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from undressing him further.

Lydia looked up at his face. His eyes were still closed but he was waking up fast. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter before opening them a fraction. The first thing he noticed was the ungodly amount of pain radiating from his back. The second thing he noticed was that Lydia was straddling his hips and undressing him.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence. Lydia's face slowly turned red as she realized how this must look to him, and even Zyphre's bloodless face turned a little pink.

"Did I…miss something?" he asked weakly.

Lydia was about to answer when she felt something move under her. She squeaked and quickly got up off Zyphre's lap, wrenching her wrist out of his hand. Zyphre blushed for real this time. "Sorry!" he said, his voice still weak. "Sorry! I don't really have control of…that…all the time…"

"Shush," said Lydia, smoothing her dress down and trying to regain some composure. "You've lost a lot of blood…You shouldn't be speaking."

Zyphre tested this by trying to move and finding he barely had the strength to lift his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Your clothes are all bloody…"

"Don't worry," she said. "It's your blood."

"Oh," he said, not certain that telling him not to worry was the right thing. "Can you…help me roll over? My back really hurts right now…" He looked away, disgusted by his weakness.

Lydia nodded and helped him roll over onto his stomach. The back of his shirt was drenched in blood and sticking to his skin. She pushed it up the rest of the way, Zyphre helping her get it off as best he could. Zyphre heard her gasp as she saw the wound she had caused.

"Oh, Zyphre…I did this…? I'm so sorry…"

The wound had thankfully clotted and was no longer bleeding, but it was very nasty looking. A long, thick, deep, jagged wound just off his spine on the left side. It looked horribly painful and Lydia felt her insides go numb.

"Gods…I did kill you…"

"Do I look dead to you?" asked Zyphre. "You missed my heart. I'll be…nnn…fine…" He closed his eyes to the pain. "How bad is it?"

"Bad…" Lydia's eyes welled up with tears.

Zyphre looked up at her in time to see her start to quietly cry. "Hey…I'm okay…well, no, I'm not exactly okay, but I will be. Please don't cry."

Lydia sniffed and nodded, grabbing the first aid kit and opening it. Zyphre hissed in pain as she started to clean his wound, causing it to sting.

"Sorry," said Lydia. "Am I hurting you?"

"Don't worry about me. Just do what needs to be done," he said. In an effort to distract himself, he asked, "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," answered Lydia. "I snuck over here to see you because I was worried…I thought someone would have come to treat you…"

"Aww, you were really worried about me?" he asked happily. "So I take it my confession was well received?"

"What confession?" asked Lydia curiously.

Zyphre's heart sank. "Oh…nothing…forget it…" He folded his arms in front of him and put his head down. She didn't remember that he had told her he loved her. He admitted to himself that he should have checked for real that she was no longer possessed before telling her, but it still hurt that his efforts had been in vain…

Lydia pressed a cloth pad hard against his wound, making him wince. As she made him sit up so she could wrap bandages around his torso to hold the pad on, he asked, "How did you get me here?"

"Oh, I…I might have…sworn myself to Nerull for eternity in exchange for your survival…" Lydia looked down at her hands timidly.

"You what! Agh!" Zyphre started to whip around to face her, stopping as blinding pain erupted on his back.

"Oh, perfect, Zyphre, you've reopened your wound," huffed Lydia.

"You swore yourself to Nerull?" he half-shouted. "Why would you do that!"

"I just wanted you to be safe," said Lydia meekly.

"You know how hard he'll abuse that power he now holds over you!" shouted Zyphre. "Lydia, that was a very stupid thing to do! If I had known you were gonna do that I would have told you just to leave me down there!"

Lydia looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "I couldn't!" she protested, tears welling up in her eyes. "I couldn't leave you down there! I couldn't leave you to die! I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around because you're _always_ around! And I'm a little sick of your constant presence, to be perfectly honest! But I still need you and I couldn't live with myself if I had stabbed you _and_ left you there to die! I can't imagine being without you! I love you!"

The heavy silence that penetrated the air was almost palpable. Lydia's face slowly turned deep red and she covered her mouth with her hands. Zyphre too blushed, thought not very deep due to the extensive blood loss.

"Lydia…"

"Forget it," she said, looking away. "You're all bandaged up…you should rest and recover now…I-I need to get back to my room before anyone notices I'm gone…"

"Lydia, wait…"

But Lydia had already stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Zyphre sighed and flopped backwards on his bed, yelping loudly in pain and rolling onto his stomach. He sighed again.

"Good job, idiot," he muttered into his pillow.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Lydia sat on her windowsill, looking out the window at the night sky. She hadn't been back to see Zyphre, obeying Nerull's orders and keeping to her room. She wondered if he was resting like she told him to. He probably wasn't. He was far too stubborn to do something as simple as lay down for a bit.<p>

There was a knock at her door. Thinking it was Nerull, she called, "Come in."

Zyphre opened the door and stumbled in, closing it behind him and leaning against it for support. He was quite pale and out of breath from walking to her room with his injury. He had pulled his coat back on, but was still shirtless.

"Zyphre!" Lydia protested, getting up and running over to him to help him stand. "What are you doing here? Did you walk all the way here on your own? You shouldn't have done that! You need to rest or this wound won't heal! Sit down–"

"I love you too," he cut across her.

Lydia stopped and looked up at him. "What…?"

"I love you too," he repeated. "I told you during our 'fight'…but I guess you didn't hear me…"

She shook her head. "I-I didn't hear anything while I was possessed…I-I don't remember…"

"Don't worry about that," he said. "I know you weren't yourself; I'm not upset. But I do love you, Lydia."

"Is that…why you forced yourself here?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I tried to rest like you told me to…but you had said it and I hadn't said it back…so I had to come here and tell you."

Lydia blushed. She helped him over to the bed and forced him to sit down on it, Zyphre putting up little resistance. "How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"I was feeling better until I tried to walk all the way here," he laughed. "Back still hurts like a bitch. But I'll live."

"I'm so glad to hear that…" Lydia leaned in and kissed him.

Zyphre kissed back hungrily before breaking away and saying, "Lydia, no, we don't exactly have privacy in this castle…"

"But we do," she breathed. "Nerull isn't in the castle right now, and the guards will be asleep for awhile yet…"

"Yeah, I was wondering about the unconscious skeletons."

Lydia silenced him by kissing him again. Zyphre kissed back, pushing her back slightly. His hand came up to trail down her side and rest on her hip. Lydia blushed and put her hand on top of his, almost like she was going to push it away but not following through.

Zyphre ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking silently for access to her mouth. Already in new territory, Lydia hesitantly parted her lips. Zyphre slid his tongue inside, deepening the kiss. Lydia wrapped her arms around his neck and started to slide his coat off.

#

Zyphre took his hand off her hip and slid his coat off all the way without breaking the kiss and throwing it on the floor. Lydia broke the kiss for air, breathing Zyphre's name. Zyphre kissed her jaw line and started kissing down her neck. Lydia let out a breathy moan and Zyphre began to smell arousal.

"Zyphre…are we really going to…?"

"Do you want to?" asked Zyphre, nibbling on her collarbone.

"Yes," she breathed.

At that, Zyphre decided to be a little more daring and ran his hand up her side, cupping her breast and massaging it gently. Lydia let out a noise that was almost like a squeak, never having actually been touched intimately. With Nerull, it had more or less been her undressing and immediate penetration…

Zyphre squeezed her breast and earned a moan. He kissed Lydia as he massaged her breast and asked softly, "Will you take it off?"

Lydia blushed furiously and squeezed her eyes shut. She nodded a fraction of an inch. "We'd have to take the whole dress off…"

"I don't have a problem with that," said Zyphre.

Lydia sat up nervously, tensing when Zyphre started to unzip the back of the gown. She helped Zyphre get the gown over her head, crossing her arms over her bare chest and closing her legs on impulse. Zyphre sat back, drinking in the image of her naked body, before blushing and looking away.

"Right, sorry…I forgot you don't like it when I look," he mumbled.

Lydia uncrossed her arms and took his face in her hand, turning his head back and kissing him softly. "You can look," she said.

Zyphre kissed her, pushing her onto her back again. He trailed his fingers lightly over her stomach, making her shiver. He kissed lightly down her neck, nipping at her collarbone as he passed. He reached her nipple and took it in his mouth, sucking lightly. Lydia moaned out loud and tangled her fingers in his hair. Zyphre slid his hand down between her slightly opened legs and started rubbing.

Lydia squeaked and closed her legs on his fingers. "Zyphreeeee…"

"Shh…do you trust me?" he asked, still moving his fingers despite their confined space.

"Mmmh…yes," she breathed.

She opened her legs a little more to let his fingers work and sat up slightly to kiss him. As she opened her mouth to allow his tongue in, she reached down between his legs and cupped the growing bulge forming in his pants. He moaned into the kiss and allowed her, rubbing her clitoris roughly. Their kiss broke and he started attacking her neck again.

"Ahh…Zyphre…will you…take yours off?" she asked breathlessly.

Zyphre stopped. "You sure?" he asked.

Lydia nodded. "I want us…to…"

Zyphre leaned back and pulled his hand out from between her legs, looking at her and licking his wet fingers erotically. Lydia blushed deeply and looked away. Zyphre smiled and started to slide his pants down, releasing his erection and hissing in pleasure as the cold air hit it.

Lydia looked back at the hiss and covered her mouth, her face turning red. "Oh, gods, it's huge," she said before she could stop herself.

Zyphre looked at her in disbelief. "You've slept with a _god_ and _I'm_ huge?" he asked.

"Zyphre, Nerull was barely half that size," she said, unable to tear her eyes away.

Zyphre smiled and kissed her softly. "Believe me, there will be much internal gloating," he said. "But not tonight."

He kissed her more forcefully, reaching up to cup her breast. Lydia kissed back, allowing him to deepen the kiss. She reached down hesitantly and wrapped her hand around him, squeezing gently. He moaned encouragingly and she moved her hand more against him.

He pushed her onto her back, hovering over her. Their eyes met, both of them looking rather nervous. "Can I…put it in?" he asked.

Lydia blushed and nodded. She spread her legs apart and wrapped her arms around Zyphre's neck. "Just be gentle…you're a lot bigger…"

Zyphre nodded and started pushing himself inside Lydia's tight entrance. Lydia cried out in pain and squeezed her eyes shut tight, wrapping her arms around him tighter and digging her fingernails into his back, thankfully the uninjured part. She whimpered into his shoulder and a very familiar scent hit Zyphre's nose.

He looked down. "Lydia, you're bleeding!" he said in alarm.

"It's okay," she said softly. "Keep going, please…"

Zyphre pushed in the rest of the way, her tight heat pressing down on him. Lydia let out a whimper and wriggled her hips slightly at the feeling of being filled, wrapping her legs around Zyphre's waist. Zyphre moaned quietly into Lydia's ear. "You're so tight, Lydia," he breathed. "You feel really good…"

He felt her face get hot against his shoulder. Lydia mumbled against him something that sounded like, "Move."

Zyphre pulled out and thrust back in, both he and Lydia moaning as he did so. Lydia tightened her limbs around him as he moved, her whimpers of pain turning into moans of pleasure. Her fingers relaxed, only to dig her nails back into his flesh as pleasure built inside her.

The world seemed to melt away. Nothing outside their little bubble of bliss mattered anymore. It didn't matter that Lydia was married. It didn't matter that they were forbidden from seeing each other. It didn't matter that not even a week ago they were convincing themselves that they hated each other. All that mattered was that they were joined together now, uncertain where her body ended and his began.

The heat coming from their bodies made Lydia feel like she was going to melt away into nothing. Zyphre was skilled. She felt the heat start to pool in her lower abdomen, a completely alien sensation to her. She moaned out Zyphre's name, unable to do anything else but move her body against his.

"Lydia," Zyphre moaned. "I'm about to cum…"

"I think…I am too," breathed Lydia. "You can…inside…"

Zyphre sped up his thrusts, his body rubbing against her clitoris. She moaned out loud as he began to throb inside her. He thrust deep inside her, crying her name as he throbbed hard and something hot began to coat the end of her passage. The tension inside Lydia's abdomen released, like a rubber band being snapped, and she arched her back, shouting Zyphre's name as the pleasure exploded inside her.

As their orgasms came to an end, Zyphre let himself drop. He lay on top of Lydia, both of them panting hard. He pulled out and rolled off her onto his back, yelping at the forgotten pain and rolling onto his side instead.

#

Lydia panted and rolled over to face him. She tried to say something, anything, but she seemed to have lost the ability to form words. Zyphre laughed and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling her close.

"I love you, Lydia," he said, tucking her disheveled hair behind her pointed ear. She shivered as his fingers brushed the tip.

"I love you too," she replied, snuggling against his chest.

They dozed off like that in each other's arms, blissfully content that nothing could ever touch them as long as they stayed together.

* * *

><p>Things changed after that night, and for Lydia and Zyphre things definitely changed for the better. When Nerull returned from where he'd gone they made certain to not be seen together in his presence, waiting until the dead of night to sneak into each other's rooms. After a time, Nerull reassigned Zyphre as her bodyguard, convinced that any feelings they may have shared had been properly squashed.<p>

Draesen was the first and only person to learn of their trysts, swearing on his life that he would keep the two of them a secret. Lydia discovered in her time with Zyphre as his lover that what she had suspected for a long time was true: his horrible personality was all an act. When he was with her, he was still snarky but he was also very sweet and she could tell that he cared deeply about her safety and her happiness.

Nerull was the same abusive man he always was, but Zyphre stood up for Lydia more often now, even getting beaten in her place more than once. Lydia hated it when this happened, but Zyphre always recovered good as new within a couple days, sometimes even hours. The worst injury he ever received was still the one Lydia had inflicted on him with the sickle, having left a nasty, jagged scar on his back that made Lydia feel guilty to look at.

They did eventually come up with a reason to leave the castle for good, not caring about the consequences and not being able to afford to stay. They found their place in a tiny town, Lydia using her much better controlled and powerful magic to cast protection spells over the town and their own bloodline. And that reason that gave them the push they needed to finally leave turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to them.

"Ack! No! I'm dying! I've been slain!" shouted Zyphre over-dramatically.

"I got you, daddy!" said the three-year-old happily, lying on his father's back where he had tackled him.

"Yeah, you got me, Lucian," said Zyphre. He rolled over in the grass, knocking the laughing toddler off his back, Lucian squealing in delight. "Now it's my turn to get you!"

Lucian screamed and ran away on his short little legs. Zyphre got up and continued their game. At the back door, Lydia sat on the step, laughing as she watched her unofficial husband and son. She sat back and smiled.

To think that just a few short years ago they lived in fear of having a life together. They still did live in fear that he would one day find them, but they knew they would be alright. They had each other to protect, and their child, and they were both prepared to die to protect what they had.

Lydia looked down at the ring on her finger that Zyphre had gotten for her in lieu of an actual wedding, which they could not afford to have take place and draw attention to themselves. She smiled and made a happy noise. Zyphre was the least likely person she'd ever thought she'd make a life with. He wasn't a knight in shining armor. He was rarely kind to anyone but her or Lucian. He wasn't noble. He wasn't even all that mature. He wasn't what she had once told her brother what her ideal man was. But he was hers.

And as long as he stayed by her side, she felt that all the missing pieces in her life had fallen into place.


End file.
